


Grocery Bags and Night Resorts

by hanihyunsu



Series: Grocery Bags [2]
Category: Boku no Hero Academia, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki is Bad at Feelings, Bakusquad (My Hero Academia), Birthday, Birthday Party, Birthday Presents, Dorks in Love, Gay, Gay Kirishima Eijirou, Gen, Hotels, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Idiots in Love, Kirishima Eijirou is a Good Friend, Late Night Conversations, Love Confessions, Minor Jirou Kyouka/Kaminari Denki, Multi, Party, Please Don't Hate Me, Secret Crush, Sexuality Crisis, Stargazing, Stars, Summer Vacation, Swimming Pools, Teen Crush, This Is STUPID, Todoroki Shouto & Yaoyorozu Momo Friendship, Todoroki Shouto is a Dork, Uraraka Ochako is a Good Friend, Useless Lesbians, Vacation, Video Cameras, Vines, What Was I Thinking?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-14 17:44:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 47,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16917393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanihyunsu/pseuds/hanihyunsu
Summary: It was Katsuki's birthday, and Class 1-A's small plan to celebrate their classmate's birthday....BECAME A SCHOOL VACATION?Oh, and everything wasn't really resolved at the retreat. Kirishima still needed help, but of course his friends are more than supportive for the first ever love confession happening in their class.Welcome to the Tropics, U.A!





	1. Taste of Blueberries On Fruitcans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //I don't own Spotify, Vine (rip) or Gucci, nor was I endorsing anything here//

 "Damn, I miss skating."

Jirou looked up from her phone to glance at the blond across from her, mumbling to himself as he ate cheesy onion rings. Bakugou was staring at the side of the restaurant table, near the window, and when Jirou turned, there were indeed local skaters skating at their roller blades and skateboards just outside.

_If only she brought her own roller blades..._

But she didn't, because that will weigh her baggage heavier at the airport.

She decided to ignore everything and divert her attention back to her Spotify playlist. She paid premium for it.

Beside the purple-haired teen, was two of her loudest friends, Kirishima and Kaminari. The only one who could sit beside Bakugou with the least chance of being yelled at was Yaoyorozu.

"No wonder this country likes soy sauce so much!" the redhead exclaimed, swallowing the entire bite of rice with soy sauce.

"Kirishima, this is brunch, not lunch. How could you eat for lunch then?" Yaoyorozu asked in concern.

"Yeah! Bro, try the banana split! It's amazing," Kaminari said, gesturing to his banana split. It was mashed down by the blond by his fork, and it doesn't look as presentable as when it was served.

"Uh, no thanks."

Mina snorted. "Oh my gosh, Kaminari! I remember the photo Todoroki had found in the easter egg!" the pink-haired girl laughed, "dude, your baby face eating a lemon for the first time was _hilarious_! It was like right now! You never really grow up."

"H-hey, woman, what the heck?" The embarassed blond furrowed his eyebrows and frowned, wanting to forget the little memory.

The retreat took place a few weeks back, at the same place the seniors will hold theirs. In the egg hunt, it was Todoroki who found the most easter eggs, deeming him the winner. In one of the four eggs was Kaminari Denki's childhood photo, which was the blond in his high-chair eating a lemon for the first time. The photo was made their groupchat head, much to the blond's dismay.

He would do almost anything to remove that photo from existence.

Needless to say, Mina enjoyed the look of utter agony on his friend's face.

"Oh! Dude, why would you even eat a lemon? HAHAHA!" Sero laughed, slamming his hand down the table that their plates bounced at the surface.

The two, Sero and Kaminari, got into a small argument as Mina felt her phone ring. Her classmate's chathead appeared, much to her excitement

 

> _Urarakachan sent a message_

> _Urarakachan: Yeah, yeah, got the plan under control._

> _Urarakachan: Oh, and Mr. Aizawa just got forced by Midnight, All Might and Present Mic to catch some rays at the beach Ｏ−Ｏ..._

Mina immediately typed a response.

> _Ashiechan: reALLY?! SEND PICS OR IT DIDNT HAPPEN_

> _Ashiechan: We're still at the restaurant. Kirishima's will move to Phase 2 of the plan soon..._

The pink-haired girl cleared her throat, catching the attention of the black-haired girl beside her, despite the noise of the argument coming from two of their friends. Yaomomo glanced at her; Mina showed her phone screen under the table. Not two seconds after Yaomomo read the message, Mina leaned close.

"Commence phase 2 of Operation: KiriBaku," she whispered.

Yaomomo nodded, immediately coming to rummage her bag for the receipt of their mini shopping trip. It was because they decided to try the snacks of the locals instead of their own. Mina slyly continued eating her own banana split.

"Wait...guys," Yaomomo interrupted the fight, "I think I forgot to buy something."

Mina tried to stop her small smirk by feigning concern. "Eh? But it's already 9:23..."

"I'll be back. It's just a little something. You guys could go ahead..." The tall female started to stand, pushing her chair back and slinging her purse on her shoulder.

"Hm? I'll go with you, Yaomomo," Kirishima said, gaining the attention of the remaining teens. "It's dangerous walking alone from here to the hotel. The locals flirt so much."

Jirou's small glareーMina knew it was just acting on her partーsoftened, nodding. "Agreed. I got cat-called once."

"You...did?" Kaminari whispered.

"Thanks, Kirishima-kun," Yaomomo grinned. "You guys go ahead. We'll follow."

Mina can't help it but turn to the side and grin, hiding her grin and silent snickering face from Bakugou. Since Yaomomo's seat was empty, Bakugou could clearly see her now, and it's just the start of the plan for it to be ruined so early.

Phase 2 is when Yaomomo had to drag Kirishima behind, leaving the two of them together for their "last minute shopping trip", which was just them picking up Kirishima's gift for his...small crush. Mina and the others just had to act oblivious and generally act normal, but Mina can't help herself.

Meanwhile, Jirou herself acted her part convincingly, raising her eyes from her phone as Sero and Kaminari resumed their small argument. She met Bakugou's small glare, with furrowed eyebrows saying that he's clearly annoyed. Following the blond's glare, Jirou turned to see he was glaring at Kirishima's empty seat.

Hmm, that's interesting--

"Ow!"

"S-sorry!" Kaminari quickly apologized, accidentally touching her hand instead of her phone as he charged it. Jirou definitely need to buy a powerbank instead of relying on Kaminari all the time. Charging with the blond's quirk comes with being accidentally electrocuted for at least twice in the process. Jirou could estimate she had about 2 volts in her veins at this point.

It was just the beginning of their trip. It was the Southeast Asian tropical "summer", just a few days before their first day of class as Class 2-A. Since there is someone in their class who is having a birthday at April, namely Katsuki Bakugou, the class decided to have a vacation one last time as Class 1-A. For logical reasons and excuses, they timed it at April 19th to April 21st, covering their classmate's birthday. But...the unexpected happened!

Word spread around U.A, reaching not only other classes but also the principal himself. You could say it was lucky, but the faculty liked the idea so much they organized a formal school fieldtrip (complete with waivers for the parents) for the tropics.

Not only was it a few days before another school year, but for some reason we cannot understand, they agreed. Class 1-A cannot comprehend how the vacation would benefit the school (the school paid for the hotel and the plane tickets, so what good could result from this if they spent so much?) but nobody dared question it. For them, it was a huge achievement AND a miracle as well: to have the entire school organize an overseas fieldtrip just for Bakugou Katsuki, out of all people.

But because Class 1-A could and definitely would make the most out of every opportunity given to them, the girls (and a few of the boys) have a secret agenda planned for April 20th: **Operation: KiriBaku.**

It was all credits Hagakure, Uraraka and Mina's planning. They planned all "phases" of the plan, but basically...

Kirishima Eijirou would finally confess to Bakugou Katsuki, whether Bakugou reacts positively or not.

On Uraraka's side, she's mainly doing it for Kirishima's peace of mind. The poor redhead had been struggling with his gayness for the blond, which solution was to confess. She still hates the blond from the moon and back, but she wouldn't deny that she still wants to see the two together.

That's Operation Kiribaku for you! Would you join?

 

* * *

 

The place was undeniably lovely. The sun was high in the blue sky, complete with some fluffy clouds to give some shade. At the hotel lounge of the floor where their rooms were, the glass wall gave a splendid view of the beach and the rest of the hotel-resort. The beach sands were white, and the sea was crystal clear. Palm trees lined near the shore, with hammocks tied between them. There weren't that many people, and they could only wonder why that is. Still, it was a magnificent view of a perfect tropical summer dream anyone could have easily dreamed of and admired.

Iida was one of those people. He sat at one of the armchairs near the glass wall, yet, he still cannot enjoy the view fully. He kept looking at the lounge and to his small notepad, checking his classmates and what they are doing.

  * _Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Kaminari, Sero, Kirishima, Bakugou- quick trip to grocery store_
  * _Midoriya- couch_
  * _Uraraka- couch_



His two friends, namely Midoriya and Uraraka, were at the couch near his armchair. The former was focusing on his laptop while still agreeing with Uraraka's admiration to the beach. Honestly, for Iida, it was _just like Midoriya_  to bring his laptop on _beach vacation_ , but it was total bs on his eyes. Forgive the language, but for Iida, if there was a breathtaking view, why wouldn't you come take a second to admire it? Despite his curiosity, he stayed silent and checked the next person on his listーShoji.

He looked back up, scanning the lounge until his eyes laid upon the muscular multi-armmed man. He was standing at the side, scanning his phone, when a lady in housekeeping staff uniform came nearby and caught a conversation with him. At this, Iida sighed and took his eraser to erase the description.

  * _Shoji: drinking soda silently being flirted on by housekeeping staff_



The next person was Mineta.

The grape was missing. Iida stood, and still no Mineta. He almost took off to the bathrooms to check if the short teen was setting up cameras again when he felt a hand tug at his shirt.

"I'll look for him," Tsuyu offered.

"That's very kind of you, Tsu!" Iida sighed, genuinely grateful from the bottom of his heart. He really, _really_  doesn't want to check this one classmate of his in particular.

He went back to his seat and updated his list.

  * _Tsuyu- looking for Mineta_
  * _Mineta- ~~playing games~~ missing_
  * _Satou- sleeping_
  * _Aoyama- in his room_
  * _Shinsou- sleeping_
  * _Koda- sleeping_
  * _Ojiro- sleeping_
  * _Todoroki- snacking_
  * _Hagakure- couch_



He looked back up, checking his remaining classmates. Indeed, Todoroki was still eating something while Hagakure was playing something on her phone. He took a deep breath and closed the notepad.

"Oh, oh! Deku-kun!" Uraraka suddenly exclaimed, sitting excitedly beside the green-haired teen and showing him something in her phone. This made Iida furrow his eyebrows silently, despite not knowing exactly what he was being annoyed about. The two almost made it seem like they're ignoring him...?

Iida shook his head. Nope.

Midoriya took a moment to look at her phone before the duo bursted out in a fit of giggles. Before Iida could even think of another poisonous thought, he felt another tap at his shoulder. He hoped it would be Tsuyu being succesful in finding the missing Mineta, but it was Hagakure.

"Iida-kun, have you seen Ojiro-kun? He borrowed my sunblock and I was thinking of having it back..."

"Oh, I haven't seen him, but try knocking at his room, Hagakure. As far as I knew, he's sleeping," Iida said.

"Oh, okay! Thanks, Iida-kun!"

When Iida turned to the couch, his two friends were suddenly nowhere. At this, he let out a sharp breath and opened his notepad.

  * _Midoriya- ~~couch~~ missing_
  * _Uraraka- ~~couch~~ missing_



Meanwhile, Todoroki enjoyed his snack of blueberries. It reminded him of a specific Vine in particular, one of the many vines Uraraka showed him. His phone vibrated silently and he slid the lockscreen open at his sister's new message.

> _Fuyumi sent a message to the groupchat_

> _Fuyumi: Send a picture of the view, Shouto! I'll show it to mom._

Todoroki complied, turning around on his stool and snapping a photo of the glass window, making sure to focus it on the spectacular beaches and the sky.

> _Shouto sent a photo to the groupchat_

> _Fuyumi: Wow! Wait, I'll show it to mom._

The half-blonde half-redhead teen quickly typed his reply.

> _Shouto: Wish you were here._

The elevator nearby suddenly beeped, its tinted glass doors opening to reveal the unmistaken voices of his classmates. He quickly placed the phone on his pocket and placed all remaining three blueberries he had yet to eat.

"Hey! Iida, we're back!" Kaminari greeted with a smile. He and Sero carried a few small paperbags and placed them on the coffee table. Hagakure quickly greeted Ashido with a hug and the boys with a fist bump. Todoroki formed his own fist and bumped it onto a nearby wall gently.

"Hey, did you know, we've seen Monoma, Hatsume, Tamaki-senpai and the whirlwind Shiketsu guy on separate occasions as we walked back," Ashido announced, turning on her phone and showing everyone (including Tsuyu who just found Mineta) a photo Todoroki would rather not see. From the cap to the bizarre smile, Todoroki found the man in the photo quite...memorable.

So Inasa was here, huh.

"Shiketsu ~~bitches~~ ," Bakugou grumbled to himself.

Even after the (extra license exam training) they still don't get along. But not as bad as how he and Bakugou got along, or he and his father got along. Just thinking about Endeavor breaks his mood. Thank heavens Fuyumi didn't add his old man to the groupchat.

"Huh," he said.

He silently rummaged the paper bags for the fruitcan snack he had asked them to buy instead.

"That's Yoarashi-san from Shiketsu, right?" Hagakure said. Todoroki _almost_  paused from his rummaging at the name mention.

"Yes. It's not just Class 1-A, or the hero course OR U.A," Sero explained, sipping on his fruit juice drink.

Bakugou growled as he pulled the ice cream tubs out of the paper bag. As the blond set up ice cream for everyone present, the elevator beeped again and there came out Yaoyorozu, Jirou and Kirishima, carrying large bags of...Gucci?

"Iida, we're back," Yaoyorozu announced. Jirou and Kirishima, who carried the large paperbag, passed by the lounge, waving to Iida who is still keeping track of everyone (like Mr. Aizawa told him to).

"Just gonna change! Reserve me ice cream, Kaminari!" Kirishima went straight to his room.

Todoroki finally found his fruitcan at the bottom of one paper bag and immediately settled at the corner, refilling his bowl from the hotel service. The fruits in the service only have limited options, yet the fruitcans were assorted. If he owned the hotel, he'd definitely prioritize the fruits.

Once Iida was done, Todoroki noticed the tall teen stand up and walk closer.

"What time do we swim? What time do we swim?" Hagakure immediately tapped Iida's shoulder once he came close.

"Have anyone seen Midoriya-kun and Uraraka-san?" Iida asked, earning shaking heads from everyone. He sighed. "We are allowed to start swimming at the pool around 5pm--"

It was 11.

"YeeeeEEEEESSSS!!!" Todoroki flinched at the sudden scream coming from Kaminari, Ashido, Sero and Hagakure. The four shared excited chatter and highfives.

Bakugou slid the bowl with his part of the vanilla ice cream silently, the blond immediately scooping for his own part. His phone vibrated again at his hand and he looked at the notification only to raise his brow.

Uraraka?

Well, it's not like Uraraka doesn't chat him, but she rarely ever gives him a chat with their PM's. He pressed his thumb at the fingerprint sensor, unlocking his green lockscreen to see her message.

> _Uraraka sent you a message_

> _Uraraka: hey, do u have a waterproof camera? Uraraka: too afraid to borrow kirishima's cameras ;;_

"Hmm?" he wondered.

> _Todoroki: Why?_

> _Uraraka: 😎😁_
> 
> _Uraraka: It's a secret~_

"Are you guys sure you didn't see a glimpse of Midoriya-kun and Uraraka-san on your way up here? The pools? The lobby?" Iida asked once more, gaining a myriad of no's from the group. He swallowed a spoonful of ice cream  as he typed his reply.

> _Todoroki: Fine, I have one._

> _Todoroki: Where are you guys even? Iida is asking where you and Midoriya-kun were._
> 
> _Uraraka: Uh, somewhere over the rainbow!~  Uraraka: idk see u later thanks for the camera! we'll grab it later_

> _Uraraka: Thanks again!_

Todoroki frowned at Uraraka's texts. Was there even a place "somewhere over the rainbow"?

He carried his ice cream bowl and fruitcan and went to his and Iida's room to eat alone. Possibly also to privately search places over the rainbow, but mainly, to eat alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste Of Blueberries On Fruitcans ✓
> 
> Iida pushed his glasses up and closes his notepad. Even he, the earnest class rep, could not contain his excitement for the future of his classmates' lovelife and future.
> 
> Next up:  
> -Kirishima's take on Operation: KiriBaku  
> -Deku's lovelife  
> -Shiketsu and Class 1-B  
> -Seiji and Barbecue Grills


	2. Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //Honorary Alternate Chapter Titles:  
> *Barbecue With Meatball Man  
> *Maybe Shiketsu and 1-B Aren't Really Bad//

The clock currently read 12:29pm, and the moment it became 12:30, the doors to the hotel restaurant opened and revealed the ones Kirishima was dying to talk to. Well not really. He wasn't really one for exaggeration and hyperbole, but he wanted to talk to them alright.

Yaomomo came in dressed in a simple shirt and jeans, but the small logo imprinted at the sleeve made Kirishima take a double take at how "simple" her shirt could be. That is one expensive shirt. Jirou beside her was dressed in an oversized skull shirt and leggings, which dark colors came into a huge contrast with Yaomomo and the resort's light theme. It was summer, who in the world wears _black_? The answer was clear: Jirou.

The two girls slipped into the table and their orders came not too soon after. Again, Kirishima noticed Yaomomo's lunch meal preference and its difference on his and Jirou's.

He sighed, "Rich people..."

This caught the two girls' attention. The black-haired one beamed up, swallowing her food first before speaking. She really was raised like a lady. A rich lady.

"Oh, Kirishima, about the gift giving..." Yaomomo leaned in close, looking around for possible eavesdroppers. "We are planning for you to give your gift last, right after the party when everyone left."

"After the party?" the redhead asked, "Uh, yeah maybe. But you know him, there's a high chance he'd sulk after the celebration. He already isn't up at the idea of a party for him, let alone a secret meeting for...gift giving."

Jirou groaned. "Trust us. It's a plan made by girls, the experts on these types of things. At least the other girls are," she said, "All I can say is that you need to give him your gift in a special time: it shouldn't be given the same time we give ours."

"Speaking of, what did you get him, Jirou?" Yaomomo asked. At the moment, Kirishima took the chance to take a bite of his spaghetti. After the heavy meal at brunch, he really wasn't up for rice anymore.

"I bought him an SD card and filled it with songs and movies based on the genre he likes. Got the information from Deku-kun," Jirou replied, gesturing a small-sized card by her fingers.

"Ohhh! That's cool and thoughtful! I bought my gift for him at the last minute, and ended up with perfume."

Kirishima widened his eyes at this as he continued to chew. _Perfume_? From _Yaomomo_? It was almost impossible. He's expecting some expensive shoes or gloves or something _en grande_  (He learned "en grande" from Aoyama, so credits to the French who knows a bit of Spanish as well, the lucky multilingual). 

"Just perfume?" he asked.

The teen sighed. "Yeah. I decided to gift him one of the perfume bottles my dad bought from Switzerland."

There we go. Kirishima and Jirou shared a knowing look. _Of course_  it had to be from Switzerland.

"Hey, Yaomomo, what did you and Kirishima even buy earlier at the restaurant? At Phase 2?" Jirou diverted the topic away. Your financial status being slapped with shame is almost as painful as your manly pride being shut down.

Yaomomo smiled as she sliced her steak, her eyes scanning lightly at the two of them. "Additional stuff to put in the gift box," she replied, "leather belt."

"I'm so damn confused, wait up," Jirou paused in eating her rice. "I'm informed last of this weird modus, so I still need extra explanation, okay?"

Kirishima ate halfway of his meal as he listened intently to his future bridesmaids (that if ever Katsuki responded positively--).

Wait, did he just seriously think of being married?!

_To Katsuki Bakugou_?! His "Bakubro"?

He knew he's gay but he wasn't as gay as this before- 

"Okay, what is it you need explanations for?" Yaomomo asked as he shook the thought out of his head. He doesn't need his gay thoughts right now, he's in public.

"Well, here's what I know. Kirishima right here will give his gift last," Jirou said, gesturing to him. Yaomomo gave her a small "Uh-huh". "And then, his gift consists of small trinkets Bakugou had mentioned casually that he wanted, as well as this secret "ultimate gift"."

"Uh-huh."

"So when will he confess in that timeline, then? He gives the gifts, which is in a large rectangular box, before or after he confesses?"

Wait, now that he thought about it, he haven't thought about that yet. Damn, he really was agitated. His veins were filled with anxiety, excitement (for the beach and the pool), and like he said, agitation. He really will confess to Katsuki now.

For real, this time.

Yaomomo paused in her chewing at Jirou's question. The black-haired teen fished out her phone from her gold-chain sling bag (or purse, _whatever that was called_ ) and typed in something for a while.

At this, he paused as well. No stopping his gay thoughts now, huh. It would make sense if he gave the gifts first before confessing-

"Uh-huh Jirou, I informed the girls about your question," she announced. "Hagakure said that you,"ーshe pointed to the redhead, who listened intentlyー"should give the gifts first before confessing. If...Bakugou was caught off-guard at your confession, it would make sense that he...won't accept the gift. That's a waste of money right there!"

Yaoyorozu spoke softly and slowly. Kirishima understood that the girl just censored the bluntness in her statements.

"So what she basically want to say is that if you are rejected, Bakugou would reject your gift as well. If ever he gave the gift before confessing, at least the gift he saved up on won't go to waste, if not in vain."

"Jirou!" Yaomomo slapped the teen in her shoulder gently.

He sighed, holding his fork and playing with the pasta. He rested his head on his hand as he swallowed. "Yeah, I could deal with that. It's just...I'm still...nervous?" he admitted. "I should have confessed at the retreat camp, but I stalled. It was so unmanly, you know."

The two girls nodded.

"Now that I've convinced myself I'd do it, I still feel conflicted. This cost my friendship with him AND my pride, and you girls promise 100% success rate--"

"Yeah, yeah, you're nervous, but don't doubt us," Jirou raised both hands, surrendering. Yaomomo nodded her head repeatedly in her agreement with her bestfriend.

Kirishima looked back down.

Don't be mistaken, he really is happy! He got into his first plane, went into another country and vacationed on one of the most beautiful beaches in the entire East, and he's with friends that he knew would never let him down, no matter how stupid and troublesome they might get. He's a part of that "stupid and troublesome" group anyway.

What kept him constantly at the edge were the dangerous thoughts running through his mind. It was all "What if he rejects you?" and "What if he laughs at your face and calls you names?", and he _despised_  it. Thankfully, the girls promised him a 100% "yes" from Katsuki AND also another 100% that he won't he humiliated in any way, shape or form. He trusts his friends, he really did, but he knew that he would never be sure since it wasn't Katsuki himself who uttered those promises. So far, Mina and Hagakure's previous "operations" were all successful, so Kirishima cannot find any open holes in the history.

But still, what if?!

"Hey, listen up, _hardy_ ," Jirou called him out of his thoughts, snapping her fingers in front of his dazed face.

His mind wandered off again...

That was happening often lately.

"Yeah, E.J?" He returned the nickname, grabbing his fork and scooping up pasta into his mouth.

"Tell me, Kirishima Eijirou, why do you like the explosive, rude, livid-by-default Bakugou Katsuki?" she asked.

At this, he cleared his throat and looked up as he rummaged his memories, ignoring the adjectives. Oh boy, he have a lot to answer.

"Because he's a living epitome of strength," (thank god he learned the word "epitome" from Iida for aesthetic), "and he taught me that yes, pride could be broken, but you could still prove to the world you could overcome it. He's someone I want to be...."

Jirou and Yaomomo looked at him expectantly.

"But...but he.." he said, spacing out in a daze.

He remembered when he saw the blond pass over his desk once. He stared a lot. Back then, all connections he had with the blond is being in a mutual friendgroup as Kaminari, and that Bakugou taught him English more than twice because he was in short of a tutor (because Yaoyorozu is busy with her crush). The way he stared confused himself, and it grew into a small fit of frustration at himself. He couldn't accept his sexuality yet. When Bakugou was the one that offered to tutor him _f_ _irst_ , that was when it started actually. It was kind of funny, now that he thought about it.

They usually study at Bakugou's house and when the dorms were built, they go to the cafe near the skate park nearby U.A. Those _stupid afterschool meetings_ were the culprit of his feelings. In that timeline, he saw the blond's calmer sides, his genius sides and even his  _broken_  sides. He only had one opportunity to witness the blond's breakdowns firsthand, and _that one view_  did something to him. Right in the soul,  _right in his manly guts_.

"Before, he was just someone I aspire to be. Somewhere along the way, he became someone I aspire to be _with_."

Jirou nodded, almost smiling. The purple-haired teen's soft expression is rare, at least for Kirishima. "Do you like him because you wanted to be liked back?" she asked.

He almost choked at his pasta.

"No!"

No way in heaven and hell.

"Of course not!" he exclaimed, making the people at nearby tables turn to his direction for a second. Yaomomo nodded.

"Good. You have these feelings and its making you feel weirdーlike you saidーand it will still be there whether or not he freakin' likes you back," Jirou said. "To justify your feelings, you should confess. That was what _we_ want. To relieve you of your frustration of not dealing with the feelings or whatever." 

Yaomomo nodded, again. "Mhm, this steak tastes superb!" she mumbled to herself. "Think of this as us trying to help you feel more comfortable or at least help you decide on what you want to do with your feelings. Jirou and I are helping _you_ , not him." Kirishima could only nod.

He knew, despite the seemingly sincere words coming from his friends, that aside from "helping him", the reason they bothered to create a plan for him is that they want to see their ship sail...

Kirishima was one of those guys that thought they're just pirate wanna-be's, but boy was he so wrong... (Hagakure explained the S.O.S movement that was going on, which was "Save Our Ship" in a...romantic way.)

"You know, Kirishima, my mom told me one thing: she said you should love the soul, not the body," Yaoyorozu said.

"He doesn't have a soul, but I got your point." He opened his mouth and ravished the last twirl of spaghetti in his mouth. He saw Jirou look at him, amused at his comment, before the girl's gaze wandered to the view at the window.

"Wait, isn't that Deku-kun? Wasn't Iida just looking for him earlier?"

The redhead turned, drinking from his glass. His eyes were first stuck to the beauty of the tropical beaches (in April, nonetheless), but soon he saw the green mop of hair at is undeniably Deku's. Not too far from the greenhead was Uraraka, who is throwing him the sand right in the face. The two laughed in their little fun, already dressed in their swimming apparel despite being completely dry and noon. If only Kirishima could relax himself like the others...

He should sleep later. Yeah, sleep could help him refresh his mind. He got this, _he's Kirishima_.

"Oh, and there's also Iida and Shinsou," Jirou said.

"Where?" he asked, squinting in the distance.

"Right here," a voice called out right behind him. He turned in surprise, meeting with the narrowed eyes of the purple-haired teen.

The Shinsou dude always gave him the chills...

They still haven't talked to each other that long.

"Wow, it's nice seeing the two of you together," Yaoyorozu greeted, patting the empty seats in their table for the two. Iida sat down beside Yaoyorozu while Shinsou sat beside Jirou.

"Shinsou-kun just asked where he could get drinks and I happened to be on my way here as well for post-lunch," Iida answered.

"Satou's cakes are heavy."

"Uh-huh," Yaoyorozu nodded. "We found Deku-kun and Uraraka at the beach, by the way. Right there."

The black-haired teen pointed to the glass wall behind Shinsou. The two were still laughing in their own world down there, making Iida sigh.

"Good to know they didn't drown or something," Shinsou mumbled. The redhead widened his eyes at this but before he could speak, the purple-haired teen continued. "I mean, either he drowned or found another fling."

"Fling?" Kirishima asked.

Good, he's distracted. He silently thanked the two to get his mind off his confession for a while.

Now, Deku's lovelife. Well, for one, Kirishima remembered that one dorm room incident a few months ago, where they found women's clothing at his room. Everyone forgot about it after the retreat, since everyone was just busy making fun of the childhood photo of Denki Kaminari. Now that he remembered, he still kinda want to know who the clothes belonged to.

 

* * *

 

 

"Fling?" Kirishima asked.

"Yeah, a _fling_. He's famous, his name is well-known. Many people admire the broccoli," Shinsou answered, sipping on his orange juice for a while. "Of course he's going to find someone."

He was proud of everything he was saying, because he's an active witness. Deku did say some things to him directly, which is surprising because he thought the broccoli didn't trust him in any way, so he's even more sure.

Why he's speaking? That's what he doesn't know.

"Wait, Shinsou..." Jirou raised another hand. "Shinsou, what the ~~fuck~~?"

"What?" he asked back. "He's still loyal."

"No, not that," Jirou said, "How come you know so much about him? Are you two suddenly friends now or something?"

He nodded. Of course they're friends. Seriously. Maybe.

He doesn't know, really.

"We're friends since day two."

"What happened to day one?"

"Sports festival. Not really friends."

Understandable. _Perfectly clear_.

"Though, I do not think Deku-kun actively have "flings". As far as I know, he has a girlfriend and he's not the type to do such improper things as cheating!" Iida defended, chopping the air with his stiff arm as he sipped on his juice.

"I remembered the clothes in his dorm a few months ago," Kirishima brought up, "was that really legit? Like he actually had a girlfriend?"

"I think so, Kirishima-kun," Yaoyorozu agreed.

"If it was someone in class, I'd say it was Uraraka. She acted a bit weird that night," Kirishima added. "I mean, yeah. The size."

"Kirishima, I thought you're gay?"

"Jirou, I'm gay, not blind."

"Pervert."

The four extended onto a lengthy discussion of the broccoli's lovelife, but Shinsou could only smirk slyly in silence. Why?

Because broccoli neither has a girlfriend, or have feelings for anti-gravity. The whole talk was amusing to watch unfold...

Deku isn't even in a relationship! That's a lot of bullshit he may or may not bother correcting.

"He isn't in a relationship, chill," Shinsou cut off the conversation. "He's single."

He did bother correct it though. He isn't exactly evil. What he is doing could be considered spreading fake news or gossiping, and that won't be a good touch on his rep. He owed the broccoli one too, for he abused his power once by making him buy a damn bra.

"At least I knew where they were now," Iida sighed, looking down at Uraraka and Deku chatting with two familiar faces of Midnight and Present Mic.

Shinsou sipped his orange juice silently for the next few minutes after that.

 

* * *

 

 

"Personally, I am guilty of making Yaoyorozu and Jirou partner up only because it was clear the former likes the latter," Midnight said, grinning.

"Eh? Really? Do you...do that to other students at partnership activities too, Midnight-sensei, Present Mic-sensei?" Deku asked.

"Honestly, the real question is when did we _not_  partner them up because they seem to have something between each other?" Present Mic said.

The noon beach sands were hot on the feet, and while she and Deku were searching for some shade, two of their teachers waved and said hi. Uraraka smiled at her place by the hammocks where their teachers were taking a small break. The seas sparkled, the sands were so white it was almost blinding, and the winds were cool on the skin. Currently, local heroes of the country were on their patrolling shift along with Vlad King and Cementoss, leaving Midnight and Present Mic to relax.  As Deku maintained a conversation, the brunette listened intently, her mind half-listening and half-paying attention to her phone in case Mina or Yaoyorozu replied.

 

> _BlacktothePink sent a message to Alien Queen ™_

>  
> 
> _BlacktothePink: Mina, how's the plan so far? I got Deku into it, he'll help me and Yaomomo in the background research. We're in charge of phase 4. I'll text u when we're ready._
> 
> _AlienQueen™: Nice!_
> 
> _AlienQueen™: You sure u didnt force Deku-kun into it lol_
> 
> _AlienQueen™: Yomomo and Jirou r currently eating their lunch. We're gonna eat too!_
> 
> _AlienQueen™: Brb!_

 

>  

She, along with Yaoyorozu, was in charge of Phase 4, which she needed help for. The closest people she could ask for help for her part were Deku and Todoroki, since Iida would definitely be a cockblock. Deku was more efficient, since he and the Bakugou are childhood friends and somewhat neighbors. No offense to Iida!

She sighed in remembrance of the teen. She knew she was getting a little mean to Iida as much as she hated to admit it, but for now, she had a mission to complete.

What she's currently doing had nothing to do with her mission though. She and Deku just thought it would be cool if they had a small conversation with their teachers, and so far it had been entertaining.

At least for the two of them it _was_ entertaining, because they just learned that the teachers had classified three "ships" in the room, which Midnight implied with a wink. The faculty officially declared that Class 1-A of the hero course had collected the entire set: (at least) one gay ship, (at least) one lesbian ship and (at least) one straight ship. Who knew their teachers were little bastards that actually knew what in the world they are doing when they "randomly" get partnered up with their crush?

"KiriBaku? That's what you call it?" she heard Midnight ask, holding coconut water as she swung herself on the hammock, "I thought it was called "Explosive Rock" or something. Or Katsuki Kirishima. Whichever one."

Uraraka can't help but snort at this. Adults were still adults in the end...

"Oh, oh," Present Mic excitedly snapped his fingers, "I guess the other was called...Yaojirou? Jiromomo?"

"Yes! Yaojirou!" Uraraka answered in excitement. "What about Ojiro-kun and Hagakure-san?" she asked.

The two adults hummed in their thoughts.

"Ojitooru?"

"Hagashirao?"

The brunette glanced at her friend and the two shared a glance. Honestly, Uraraka wasn't sure about that last ship but whichever works. "Both!"

She ships everything at this point like an overly passionate pirate.

That's when her phone vibrated. She sneakily slid away her lockscreen (of the ocean view), and looked at her message.

>  
> 
>  
> 
> _AlienQueen™ sent a message_
> 
> _AlienQueen™: Heyyyy im bacc_
> 
> _AlienQueen™: Helped Denki and Sero wrap their gifts for birthday boy~_
> 
> _BlacktothePink: Omg ur right!_
> 
> _BlacktothePink: i feel nervous, idk what to get him!_
> 
> _AlienQueen™: didnt u already bought him smth?_
> 
> _BlacktothePink: yeah, but do u rlly think I could get away from giving him a freaking emoji pillow, Mina?_
> 
> _AlienQueen™: got a point there, but idk...give it to him, that'll work._
> 
> _AlienQueen™: if u got away alive, pics or it didnt happen_

 

She looked up and stretched her neck. She really cannot get away from giving _Katsuki Bakugou_ a laughing emoji pillow without getting killed or at least burned or attacked. Uraraka took a shaky deep breath, turning to her green-haired friend in an attempt to get advice, but her eyes caught a glimpse of a black and orange cap in a drink bar ahead.

Shiketsu.

A tall young man dressed in swimming trunks and a button down draped over his shoulder laughed at the drink bar, talking to a curvy blonde woman who held a large coconut with a straw, like the one Midnight had.

"Uhh, excuse us, Midnight-sensei, Present Mic-sensei," she quickly mumbled, grabbing her bestfriend on the arm and is already on their way moving away. The two teachers nodded and waved, continuing the conversation to themselves.

She doesn't even know why she's running away.

It's just that... _agh_ , it's just that Camie girl gives her the creeps. If Hatsume gave her level six creeps, then the Camie girl gives her level ninety creeps. _Ugh_.

"U-u-uraraka-san!"

"Shh, don't attract attention, Deku-kun," she whispered, dragging the two of them to the side, nearby the gate of the hotel-resort. The brunette proceeded to peek at the side of the post and stare at the two said students of U.A's rival. _Her rival_.

Her eyes narrowed on the blonde woman, wearing shorts and a white shirt that revealed she might as well have already worn a revealing bikini underneath.

"She's destroying my ships..."

"Your what-"

"Go ~~fuck~~ thyselves," a voice said behind them, "shall the power of faith save your spirits."

She turned in alarm, her back pressing to the post in shock. Behind them was a tiled area at the side of the gate, partially hidden because of the wall, set up with picnic tables and a grill.

"Oh my goodness!" a girl with reddish orange hair gasped, "I-I-Ibara-san just swore!"

"Well, of course she ~~fucking~~ does, Kendou. Everyone does," a teen with a blue headband replied, holding a barbecue stick in one hand.

"Everyone does what?" a steel-man asked.

"Everyone loves grilled food. Who doesn't?"

The two slowly looked at each other, sharing a mutual memory of a mini-heart attack. In front of them were five of Class 1-B students, sitting around a picnic table where barbecue and iced water was served.

The girl she was most familiar with, Kendou, turned around and was the first to awknowledge their prescence. "Oh, hi, Midoriya-kun, Uraraka-san! Everyone, say hi!"

"Hello," Sen (did she get the name right?) mumbled coolly. The teen's aura reminded her of her own classmate, Todoroki.

"Hello, ~~fuck~~ you, why are you two here at my barbecue party?" Monoma, who was utterly smug in being the "host" for once, asked. Uraraka furrowed her brows at this but she managed to keep her mouth shut, especially after a furious green-haired, vine-haired girl stabbed the table in the space between the blond's fingers.

"I need more barbecue."

"I think she's not okay," Monoma mumbled close to Kendou.

"Says you, bro," Awase nodded at his direction. The said teen turned to the two and grinned, raising a hand that motioned them over. "Hey, Class A bros! We're having a barbecue party!"

Uraraka waved shyly, scanning the place. The five were in their swimming attire and Kendou's hair seemed wet at the edgesーthey must have been swimming before they ate. She nodded to her bestfriend who sighed in relief.

Deku had been relying on her in social skills sometimes. She kind of likes it, being dependable enough, and it feels _more than good_  actually. Especially Deku, who is one of the people she admired the most after All Might, Aizawa and Gunhead.

She took a step forward direct to the two who awknowledged their prescence positivelyーAwase and Kendou. The two were smiling at them, offering barbecue much to Monoma's chagrin (who she just noticed have a tuxedo jacket draped over his naked torso). "Hello," she greeted, looking down at the freshly grilled barbecue in the plate, making her drool at the savory scent. She cannot help but ask, "Who made these?"

The five students of Class 1-B turned in unison to the back as Kendou offered her a stick. "Smells good, right? Nagamasa-senpai and Seiji-senpai made them. "

"Who?" Deku asked beside her.

Kendou gestured behind her, chewing. "Those guys."

The two turned at the same time, taking in the sight of two men (?) who just entered from the back room, holding a plate of new barbecue batches.

"Ibara-san isn't the type to like barbecue..." one of them said.

"Just because she's kinda weird doesn't mean she can't eat what she likes," Awase mumbled. "Stop stereotyping."

"Awase-kun, what?" Kendou sighed.

Uraraka kept staring at the two men who entered. One of them was incredibly hairy, making it impossible to tell their gender, and the other was tall and lean, with slits as his eyes.

"Midoriya-kun?" one called, making her eyes widen. They know Deku???

"Nagamasa-senpai...right?" Deku answered after a long silence, his face slowly showing a wide grin. The hairy person nodded.

"Look, just give me barbecue and nobody gets hurt," the vine-haired girl glared at the hairy man, who immediately retrieved the freshly cooked ones on the grill and placed them on the plate.

"Sorry about that, she seem to like barbecues a lot," the hairy man apologized. He seemed to be kind. "I'm Nagamasa Mora. This is Seiji Shishikura. I believe we have met before," he said, extending a hand to the brunette which she shook earnestly. Nagamasa-senpai seemed nice for a Shiketsu student (either that, or Camie just made a bad first impression for the school). The man gestured behind him, where a purple-haired man stood and is staring at the grill like Todoroki staring at people and asking if they have lovechilds (lovechildren?).

"No, Seiji, not the grill," Nagamasa sighed, pulling the teen away and having him sit in beside Sen at the picnic table. It amused her to think these people, who are basically their equals, also have some sort of babysitter to watch over them. Maybe Nagamasa is the Iida or the Yaoyorozu of Shiketsu.

Deku, at his turn, snorted at this, sharing a knowing glance with Nagamasa-senpai's eye.

Uraraka stopped, taking in the amusement and michievous glint in her bestfriend's eyes. It made her confusedーis there some inside joke here?ーand bit onto the barbecue silently. Before she could think more of the secret understanding happening nearby, the taste exploded in her mouth in the most satisfying way a barbecue could, making her hum in satisfaction. Nagamasa could be a world-class chef!

No wonder Ibara likes it so much it seems bizarre.

"This is really good, Nagamasa-senpai!" Deku exclaimed, scarfing the stick clean. "In my class, we also have barbecue parties, but we always went to bed with the taste of smores in our tongues. It was fun!"

Uraraka looked around the group as Kendou kept up a conversation with the two of them she only half-listened to. The only people she really associated herself to in Class 1-B were Kendou and Juzo (she once got introduced to him by Yaoyorozu), and knowing the others seemed like a nice idea. The first person to her left was Awase, who Yaoyorozu also talked about. He was clearly foul-mouthed, but it had little to no bite. He seemed like a nice guy. Plus...those muscles are to die for-

But yes, Class 1-A's muscles are still the best. She ain't betrayin' nobody, _heh heh heh._

Next to Awase was Monoma, who is sitting at the edge of the picnic table. Yes, she is familiar with the blond (obviously) but currently he's silent on his phone for once, not talking ~~shit~~ even if there were _two_ Class 1-A students in his 2 meter radius. He was also shirtless, but he had a tuxedo jacket over his shoulders instead of a towel, making her confused and at the same time curious. She still is uneasy around the blond (Kendou is currently speaking about how she seriously thinks Monoma needs actual mental therapy), but that torso is just-

_Calm down, Ochaco,_ she chanted to herself, sipping some ice water to lessen the heat on her face. She placed her gaze to Ibara Shiozaki, who she cannot forget as the girl who beat up Kaminari at the Sports Festival. She really is pretty, with soft features and a solemn expression. She possesses a glare but Uraraka doubts it was permanent. She wore a dainty sundress and is holding the iced water pitcher (which is oddly shaped as a water sprinkler) in a tight hold. She really was pretty, and the fact that she won over Kaminari is a huge bonus! They could be friends over that. She likes the feminism radiating from her.

"It's mostly about college tuition. Racking up debt for delusions, having nothing to show, deciding your future, paving a road...you know those stuff," she heard a dark-haired teen, the Todoroki 2.0, add to the conversation. He sat between Ibara and Seiji-senpai across from her. His voice was cool and collected, yet it still had the hint of casuality in it. _Perhaps he is just naturally silent?_  Uraraka thought. He also was shirtless, but with a towel over his shoulders and a camera hanging from his neck.

Camera...?

"I know, right?" Kendou agreed. Uraraka brought her mind back to the conversation, realizing that small talk evolved into a full-on conversation about...the future?

"If this is highschool, then college would be hell. That is, if we fail in our course. If we did, we'd end up in...I don't know, accounting or something," Nagamasa added.

"Are you seriously?" Awase gasped.  

"Yes I am seriously."

Someone cleared his throat across the tableーit was Sen. "There's only a little chance we do fail, but it is still there. Let's all just do our best."

Uraraka smiled at this. Class 1-B felt oddly warm in contrast to their previous meetings. She reached over to her cup and drank, listening as the others continued on the conversation. She reached over again but pointed to the camera on the teen's neck. "Is that waterproof, Sen-kun?"

The teen blinked once. Twice. His lips formed onto a small smile, leaning forward in interest. "Yes, actually. I bought it at an auction with my 12-month savings."

This guy must really like cameras then. "That's so cool!"

He looked down and fiddled with it, pointing to the barbecue and smiling. "Can I take a photo of everyone? For research purposes."

Kendou, Nagamasa, Deku and Seiji turned at them. The reddish-haired girl gave a soft smile and nodded, prompting Sen to stand a few steps at the side of the table and pointing his camera to their direction. "He just wants to take the photo for safekeeping, don't worry. He hates research."

Uraraka nodded and turned to the camera with one of her brightest grins. Kendou and Deku placed arms around her shoulders and posed for the photograph.

Maybe Shiketsu and 1-B aren't generally bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste Of Blueberries On Fruitcans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓
> 
> Spanish plus French....Spench? Franish? What--  
> Lovechilds? Lovechildren? Double what--  
> Iida raised a brow at this and half-heartedly checked the chapter. "This needs some improvement," he commented.
> 
> //Monoma's hero costume is a tuxedo with clocks//  
> //Sen Kaibara appreciation--//  
> //Reference to Delusion Tax. Nope, I don't own it either. Credits goes to Deco*27//
> 
> Next up:  
> -Big Three (actually its just Big Two)  
> -Inasa and Shouto  
> -A group of band-lovers that consisted of Jirou, Tokoyami, Shinsou and Bakugou  
> -Kaminari having a thought that he may or may not be aRT?! (kaminari bby u r a masterpiece-)  
> -Kirishima making the first move (not really, just kinda)


	3. Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //I clearly do not own Mercedes Benz, Naruto and Twitter. It seems I have to do these disclaimers for everything; you could never be so sure, you know? I don't really know, I'm making this up as I go.//

It was finally four and some of the beloved students went to the beach to join the others to catch some afternoon sun before the night swim. Todoroki, however, stood plainly by the gate that separated the concrete walk path from the sands, camera already hanging from his neck.

"Can I have my sunblock back for a bit?" A voice could clearly be heard nearby. 

"Oh, okay. But..why are you in a rush?"

"My fandom needs me, Ojiro. This is urgent." Hagakure, who is more than ready for the swim, finally saw Ojiro and demanded her lotion back. Todoroki watched silently as the blond sighed and handed the girl back her lotion. It was painfully obvious Ojiro still doesn't understand what was up with her and her "fandom" (whatever that was, Ojiro doesn't know) and he's just complying out of sheer kindness. Todoroki wanted to give kudos to the guy, honestly.

At the other side of the beach nearby the waters, were familiar faces he called his classmates. They all have jackets as cover ups, Todoroki could practically  _sense_  that they already wore their swim suits underneath their jackets. Ashido and Kaminari carried small shovels and buckets, while Shinsou, Jirou and Sero packed the buckets with wet sands and flipping them over to make towers. They laughed in their own world, with Ashido hitting Shinsou once for teasing.

At the side, nearby the drink bars and vendors selling surfboards and floaters, was Shoji who is getting flirted on by locals... _again_. Not that it surprised Todoroki.

Looking more around the beach, he saw neither Midoriya nor Uraraka and that he felt out of place being fully clothed in a beach filled with shirtless guys and women in bikinis.

"Todoroki!" He turned, seeing Yaoyorozu catching up to him. She smiled at him and they proceeded to walk around in search for...nothing, really. The two of them are bonding over their mutual curiousity of the place. Momo is also definitely searching for Jirou while walking around as well.

"You know, Jirou seemed getting jealous lately," she whispered with a small blush, "do you think she likes me? Ugh, it's so hard to assume..."

Todoroki stared blankly ahead. "Yes, I think she does."

You have no idea, Yaoyorozu. _No. Freaking. Idea._

"Eh?" His statement clearly caught her offguard, a blush hinting redder and redder on her face and neck which made her hit his arm. "Uhm, anyway you should change into your swimsuit. You look like you're still living in spring! It's summer here!"

"No will do," he said. He then distracted himself by enjoying the cool sea breeze that caresses his face softly. It was like the breeze at his dorm balcony. Momo continued with her ramblings, which Todoroki found himself getting more and more distracted to. 

"I wonder what coconut water tastes like."

He turned to the side, at a drink bar which side resembled a coconut, and a plan formed in his head. Since he could clearly see Jirou looking at him frequently, he decided to make Yaoyorozu stay silent by treating her drinks. That is effective, especially for Uraraka. It works not just on girls but also some guys as well. It worked on stopping Midoriya's mumbling. It was his secret lifeline if he needed some silence without pushing the other person away. 

"Let's buy some." He led the two of them near the drink bar, catching the attention of the vendor and ordering coconut water. Or coco juice, as the store calls it. Todoroki took a sip on his order, the sweet nutty taste cooling his throat. When he turned around to leave, it heated up once again, even if it's not obvious on his exterior appearance. Right there standing in front of him was...

"It's nice to see you again, Shouto." 

_...Inasa_. 

It wasn't a big shock to the world to know that they still don't get along. 

"Hello to you too, Inasa." He lifted the straw to his lips and slurped. It came from his habit, and he doesn't even know why he does them, but he subconsciously slurps when he came into contact with ~~bullshit~~. 

"Your girlfriend?" Yoarashi asked obnoxiously to Yaoyorozu, who widened her eyes at the sudden loud voice. "Wow, you know how to pick a girl, Shouto!"

Todoroki honestly finds it funny how they have a first name basis when they hate each other so much. Maybe it's just that "Naruto-Sasuke" thing.

A shorter-than-Inasa blonde girlー _Camie_ ーpeeked from behind the tall first-year, waving. "Hey, Todoroki! You don't want to swim?"

Todoroki ignored her and maintained his staring contest with Yoarashi. Almost everything is a contest between them anyway, but he won't deny that this was better than when they first met. Yoarashi's apology at the end of the License Exam was sincere, and he was more than glad to reciprocate the desire to prove his worth and position as both a U.A student and as a future hero.

"What about you?" Todoroki asked him, gesturing to Camie behind him. At this, Yoarashi gave a loud laugh, making a few passer-bys give a look of concern. "Your girlfriend?"

"Of course not!" Yoarashi laughed. 

"Then how bold of you to assume we are in a relationship." The half-blonde half-redhead slurped coconut water again and placed his left hand right behind him, catching Yaoyorozu's attention. Putting his mind into signing AND keeping the two in front of his distracted, he spoke again. "Assuming is bad for your mental health and ego. Acupressure points could only go too far."

Instead of Yoarashi, it was Camie who replied instead. She poked her Shiketsu cap absent-mindedly as she rested her head on the counter (in front of the concerned and disturbed vendor). She asked for his number AGAIN. "You still haven't given me your number even after I ask many times..."

Finishing his small sign language behind his back, he gave a small almost-unnoticeable smirk when Yaoyorozu reached for his hand and held it in a lock.

"But yeah Yoarashi-san, good assumption. You're right, we're together."

Camie widened her eyes at this and grinned. "Really? Since when? Congratulations!"

"Two months ago," Todoroki answered quickly, as if he practiced for the exact moment. "Please, do not ask more. We have better places to be. _Nice_ seeing you two."

He bowed his head slightly, not eager to purposefully piss off Inasa Yoarashi that isn't in a place where they are legally allowed to fight each other. He won't risk it again. Yaoyorozu waved to Camie who winked at her and mouthed "Congrats" to her.

"Inasa says sorry!" Camie shouted when they were about a few meters away. A loud "hey!" was heard from Inasa, which made Todoroki smile at himself. In his head, he wrote one for his tallies.

 

> Shouto: ~~IIII~~   ~~IIII~~  II

> Inasa: ~~IIII~~   ~~IIII~~  I

Yaoyorozu soon dropped his hand, grinning. "Having a bestfriend like you is a blessing!" she laughed, amused at the small trick they pulled. 

"How?" he asked blankly.

"I prevent you from being flirted on unwantedly and vice versa! It's a bonus that we're both gay," she said, whispering.  Todoroki simply nodded.

 

* * *

 

The Bakusquad decided to come to the beach to build sandcastles! Kirishima was in his room, slapping the reality to his head and Bakugou was somewhere they don't know. _Probably sleeping or sulking._

Ashido loves the beach, unlike certain people like Bakugou and Shinsou. She knew getting Bakugou to join them would take her decades, so she roped Shinsou into it instead. Plus, Kirishima needs to be there too if she wanted Bakugou to build sandcastles.

She snorted.

Bakugou building sandcastles _. HAHAHA what an interesting image!_

"What are you laughing about?" Sero asked. She shook her head, focusing on patting the tower to solidity. "You're weird, Mina."

"Tch, just get me more sand!" she said. Beside her, Kaminari formed small flags and people at the top of the sand fortress. Jirou was carving "U.A Territory" on the sand near the castle.

She was met with a lot of sand half-thrown at her direction. "Sero!" she called out, throwing the bucket back to the sea where her friend stood knee-deep in, laughing. She hit him square in the head, tumbling him back.

"SCORE!" Kaminari screamed, sharing a laugh and a high-five with her. "Shinsou, more sand!" he called.

"More sand _your face_ , I'd rather look for the birthday grenade boy, his party's tonight, right?" the purple-haired teen pushed the bucket towards them, rolling his eyes. "Mina, what is the point of building this aga--"

"Wait."

Everyone turned to Kaminari, who suddenly stopped packing the sand down. The blond stared onto space in deep thought and Ashido almost called Aizawa because Kaminari seemed to be.... _thinking_!

"Guys, I just had a thought."

"Congratulations," Jirou passively said, making Kaminari shoot a quick pout toward her.

"No, listen! I just _realized_ that birthday gifts are rewards for not dying, and the money they give us at our birthdays is like a paycheck," he said seriously, his eyes seemed to be gazing at an elephant in the fourth dimension, "Guys, people actually _pay_  us just for being born and staying alive until then!"

"Well, people hate us too for being born so there's that," Shinsou answered without hesitation, earning a hit to the head by Mina.

"What the _eff_ , Shin?

"Shin?" he asked, which everyone ignored.

The rest of the sandcastle building went quickly and soon it was nearing sunset (and it was an achievement that their sandcastle wasn't swallowed by the sea yet). Jirou took out her phone and snapped a few photos of the sandcastles and a few groufies as well, before--

"AHHHH!"

"Well sweet mother of katana on the hood of Mercedes Benz, you sound like a _~~fucking~~ pterodactyl_!" Jirou jumped up at the sudden scream coming from the electric-quirk user. "Bastard! You don't just _scream_! Do you even know how to function like a human?!"

"We want to scream too but that's not allowed," Shinsou mumbled once again, laying on his back on the towel they laid on the sand before Mina hit his head once again.

"I love how our castle turned out good! It is _art_!"

As Sero silently gathered their small shovels and buckets, Shinsou replied once again with no filter between his head and his mouth. Ashido wanted to have a filter and surgically place it at some vein inside the purple-haired teen so bad. She cannot handle another Kaminari versus Shinsou fight.

"Art? You call this art? This is _stupid_."

If you listen closely, you could hear Sero "ohh"ing silently in the background, enjoying the savage sides of his friends. It was entertaining, but Bakugou destroying Kaminari verbally is much more entertaining. He could advertise it like a lame mug at some online shop and consumers would buy it like it's a sacred Egyptian artifact.  _That's_ how interesting it could become.

"That is art to be stupid sometimes. The highest form of art, you know that, Shin?"

_There_ we go! Sero clapped his hands together and dabbed, along with Mina who cannot help but tolerate the fight. "OHHHHHHH! SHINSOU GOT DESTROYYYEDDD!!1!!"

Though, it settled on him not too soon after. "Wait, where did you get that from, Kaminari?"

At this, the blond shrugged. "It's my own words." He grinned, his hair being blown majestically by the sea breeze, _just like a masterpiece_. "I'm art. Face it, Shinsou."

Shinsou rolled his eyes. "Art _is_ stupid. Go sulk in a hole," he pointed to the side of the beach where there were cave holes at the bottom of the stone cliff. 

"You aren't wrong, heh. Art is kinda stupid."

 

* * *

 

While the others were enjoying the sunny afternoon, the birthday boy sulked in the boundaries of the resort. He sat by himself in the drink bar near the pools which were filled with rich-looking couples and teenagers and adults alike. He kept to himself, coming down to enjoy his can of carbonated drinks though his Twitter obviously begs to differ.

The whistle noise ticked him more than the stares he got. _So what if he's alone?!_ He likes being alone! Why are they even staring?!

He rolled his eyes as another whistle rang on his phone. His Twitter feed was filled with birthday greetings from both the people he knew and the people he doesn't give a ~~fuck~~ about.

>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> @Cabbage_Trash2.0 mentioned you in a tweet: Greetings from DR. We sent you a gift in mail. Happy Birthday @GroundZero
> 
>  
> 
> @HolyEmbroideryRing mentioned you in a tweet: Happy Birthday @GroundZero Bakugou-senpai! Osaka fan here!
> 
>  
> 
> @GunheadOfficial: Happy Birthday @GroundZero
> 
>  
> 
> @KamuiHandsomeWoods: Happy Birthday @GroundZero
> 
>  
> 
> @bedazzleyourface mentioned you in a tweet: @GroundZero pls pls pls notice me happy birthdayyyy notice this tweet pls
> 
>  
> 
> @Senaaa_ mentioned you in a tweet: @GroundZero Happy Birthday senpai! Greetings from F.D.A!
> 
>  

What even is this FDA High?! Food and Drugs Administration?!

He decided to press the silent mode on on his phone and left it on his table as he took a sip.

"Bakug--"

"How long have you been standing there?" Bakugou asks as he turned his head around and saw one of his classmates, already sensing they were there.

"Longer than you've liked."

"Tch," he rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Tokoyami?"

He regarded his classmate mildly. Tokoyami wasn't as annoying as the others, so there is no point in being annoyed for no reason. Not like he _does_  pick who he was insulting at times.

"Have you seen Jirou-san or Shinsou-san?" the other asks, "I need to return the horror dvds."

The blond shook his head silently, drinking on the can. Tokoyami raised a brow at this. "Why are you sulking when they are dying to talk to you?"

"Eh?!" He turned, glancing at the pool area at the corner of his eyes and saw a few girls having sticky gazes towards him. Some men were glaring at him at the corner of their eyes. Other men share the same sticky gaze as the girls.

Tokoyami mumbled something among the lines of "Deal with it" or something before walking away to find Jirou or Shinsou. The three shared a mutual love for horror movies and the same genre of bands (but with Katsuki this time). Generally, all four of them share the samd love for the same clothing store. It got to the point where Shinsou and Katsuki once wore the same skull shirt that Katsuki almost called the store to copyright skull shirts under his name.

To distract himself, he unlocked his phone and much to his (sarcasm intended) _shock_ , new messages were piled on his notifications. Just a few minutes from being silent and now he had seven more tweets and a new message from Ashido and Kaminari that he'd not reply to....again.

>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _Racoon Eyes sent a message_
> 
> _Racoon Eyes: where r u??_
> 
> _Racoon Eyes: have you seen kirishima??_

 

 

> _PikaPika ~~Fuck~~ This sent a message_

>  
> 
>  
> 
> _PikaPika ~~Fuck~~ This: BRUH_
> 
> _PikaPika ~~Fuck~~ This sent an attachment_

Bakugou looked at the photo Kaminari sent him. It was a meme with a watermark of one of his "fans", and it showed his face twice, one smaller than the other. The bigger one was labeled "Bakugo" and the smaller one was labeled "Bakugoing".

>   _Shine sent a message_
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _Shine: ~~Fuck~~ you_
> 
> _Shine blocked PikaPika ~~Fuck~~ This_

He archived the conversation and thought back to Ashido's text. He opened his conversation with the missing redhead. For some reason, his call ID was "Majesty" instead of "Die" or "King Katsuki". _Whatever_ , ~~Shitty~~ Hair must have set it like that. 

> _Majesty sent a message_
> 
> _Majesty: raccoon eyes asks where you were_

The moment he turned off his phone, two shadows immediately came over him. He looked up with his eyebrows tensed, being met with familiar faces. "Tamaki-senpai?"

Two of the Big Three stood in front of his table. Nejire smiled at him and is already reaching for his face. He grabbed her wrist before she could touch him. Tamaki sighed at this and waved shyly. Nejire wore a one-piece swimsuit with a coverup tied to her waist, while Tamaki casually wore jeans and a 3/4 sleeve tshirt.

"Happy Birthday, Bakugou!" Nejire greeted him warmly despite his vice-like grip on her wrist. "How's your day?"

"Fine."

"Really? Will there be a party?"

"I don't know."

"What's your birthday wish? Are you naturally blonde? Did you spill hot sauce on your eyes so that it will be red or was it naturally red since birth?" Nejire threw question over question as she always does.

"Nejire, _no_ ," Tamaki placed a hand on her shoulder, sensing the distress from the blond.

Thank heavens Tamaki was there or else he would have no choice but to push one of the best students in all of U.A to the 7 feet deep pool. _Without warning_. 

"Aw, I'm sorry! No wonder the manliest go jelly after you! I--" the lavender-haired girl was cut off by a voice.

"Nejire! Tamaki! I found us a table!"

If Bakugou wasn't mistaken, that was the voice of Mirio Togata. He admired his quirk and his techniques, but of course he was just another obstacle he'll outpower _and that's all they'll ever be._ Nejire waved quickly and said something he didn't catch while Tamaki took longer. "I'm...sorry for...Nejire. Ha-happy birthday. Bye..."

He nodded and mumbled his thanks. He could still feel The Gaze™, which was more intense now that Nejire and Tamaki went away. He almost wished he wasn't alone. Almost.

He turned his phone on again and disabled silent mode. Fans were still greeting him a happy birthday, as well as familiar faces like Hatsume (who was really ecstatic that he greeted her two days ago) and his Auntie Inko. His mom and dad also called earlier, informing him that they bought him new shoes and a new P.C as a gift. It was also a payback since his parents didn't give him something last Christmas.

He straightened his back and groaned at how sore it still was. When they arrived at the hotel, he and ~~shitty~~ Deku volunteered to carry everyone's luggage on trips. Of course he just had to send ~~shitty~~ Deku away and so he was stuck with a lot of bags to carry. He was strong and he lifted heavier things before, but  his posture was the problem that made his body hate itself. He was the greatest, still.

His phone beeped, flashing a message notification on his lockscreen.

>   _ ~~Shitty~~ Hair sent you a message_
> 
> _~~Shitty~~ Hair: oh its fine i told them already dont worry_
> 
> _~~Shitty~~ Hair: where r u?_
> 
> _~~Shitty~~ Hair is typing_

Bakugou already typed in his reply. But the moment he hit send...

 

 

>   _Majesty: hotel._

>  
> 
>  
> 
> _~~Shitty~~ Hair: nvm, found you._
> 
> _Majesty: what?_

 

 

> _~~Shitty~~ Hair: look behind you_

Bakugou lifted his gaze from his phone and slowly turned around, immediately catching the redhead walking near. He seemed to have came down to swim, as he already wore his trunks and had a towel over his shoulder. Kirishima grinned and waved.

"Are you down for jacuzzi?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste of Blueberries on Fruitcans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓  
> Chapter 3: Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid ✓
> 
> Iida pushed his glasses back up and sighed. He wondered if he did something bad for Uraraka and/or Deku to ignore him, or if that was on purpose or not, but like Todoroki said, it was bad to assume things. "Don't assume things, kids," he said.
> 
> Fun Fact: Jacuzzi comes from Candido Jacuzzi, an Italian-born American inventor.
> 
> //Appreciation for coconut water and sandcastles. Iida approves. Iida rikey.//  
> //Reference to Danganronpa and Gravity Falls Universe. Cabbage_Trash2.0 is definitely a DR character. Guess who?//  
> //Also a reference on Brandon Roger's video, "Outtakes / Alternate Takes #2"//
> 
> Next up:  
> -Denkisou and Vine References  
> -Eri Aizawa  
> -Dramatic/Somber Iida Tenya (._.)  
> -Todoroki the Barbecue King?  
> -Todoroki finally found *his berries* his friends.


	4. Eri's Apple Cores and Todoroki Misses The Smores

Proudly wearing a shirt that says _'Til death, we do art_ , Kaminari ran on the hallways and dragged his friend down.

It was 5:30, and their classmates had already been at the pool for fourty five minutes. _Exact time be damned_ , they didn't learn rounding numbers at elementary in vain.

At this time frame, Shinsou had found the opening to escape and retreat back to his room to sleep, since the party wasn't until 8.

Kaminari loves how ridiculous everything was. First of all, he believes in this rhyme that goes like:

>   _"Roses are red, Violets are blue. Bakugou goes to bed, at eight thirty two"_

And so the party must only be like, _thirty two something_  minutes long. Second, various vines are running through his head (no, not the crawling type) and replays automatically, like someone just forgot to pull out his plug to the wall that contains said vines.

" _Road work ahead? Yeah, I sure hope it does,_ " plays as he stumbled upon a "floor is wet" sign.

"Kaminari, let go of me," Shinsou said. He kept dragging him down to the stairs, excited to catapult both him and Shinsou on the pool using the trampoline.

"No! Aizawa-sensei and Present Mic-sensei had me call you!"

"You mean my dads?" he joked. Kaminari didn't get it. 

"Whatever, Shinsou. Just because Todoroki had thought you're Aizawa-sensei's lovechild doesn't mean you are," Kaminari rolled his eyes as he slowed down his pace near the stairs. The elevators were full and the other set was across the building. "Also, I haven't forgotten when you threw me a cat costume right on my face! It's my turn to-

"When did I do that?" Shinsou asked, quite dismayed that Kaminari didn't realize his joke. Darn. 

"When your "dad" had us grocery shop, remember? The hanger was metal and it hurts! It's basically a traumatic experience, Shin," he said. 

"It's just because you have a slow reaction time," Shinsou replied coolly, giving up and letting Kaminari drag him downstairs. "Plus, you are friends with Blasty. Your everyday life _is_ a traumatic experience. Plus, you're stupid."

"Haha, stop telling me things I know! My friends describe me as stupid like, all the time-- _Wait_!"

"Den, what the--! Again?"

The blonde immediately stopped, letting Shinsou to bump to his back. Like earlier at the beach, Kaminari's eyes were focused yet at the same time unfocused, like he saw a guraf-ey that needs to go back to Afric-ey. Suddenly, Kaminari yanked his sleeve and pulled him closer (both to the blond and the window), almost outright slamming Shinsou's head onto the glass window of the stairwell. Kaminari slowly pointed down and gasped, shakily pulling out his phone. Shinsou followed to where his friend pointed and ended up looking at the jacuzzi in confusion.

When he saw Denki open his camera and point the camera to said jacuzzi, that's when it hit him.

"TWO BROS, CHILLING IN A HOT TUB--!

Shinsou sighed, continuing but  ~~less enthusiastic~~ not enthusiastic at all. "Five feet apart cause they're half dead."

The next thing he knew, he got hit by a phone on his head (again). "Shinsou!!!"

 

* * *

 

Todoroki lost Yaoyorozu to Jirou not too long ago. The two were now having a conversation with Present Mic by the palm trees, along with Hagakure and Ojiro who sat nearby. The half-blond half-redhead walked pointlessly at the beach. He had been keeping track of time using the sun, and the sun had already started to set three minutes ago. Still, no Midoriya or Uraraka in his line of sight and it's starting to tick him off. _What if they're in danger? What if they're targeted? Won't Izuku send him something like he did before???_

The sky was already orange that transition into more reddish colors along the way, the ocean eating the sun whole. When he was young, he never really had the time or chance to watch the sunsetーonly the sunriseーand lately he cannot have enough of them.

Even though he the chance to take in the beautiful view, he already took a photo to stare at later and to send to his siblings and mother. For now, he wants to find out _where in the whole wide world_ was Uraraka and if she still wants to borrow his camera. He had Yaoyorozu text her earlier (since he left his phone upstairs) that he's at the beach roaming, but Uraraka is still nowhere in sight. Also Midoriya. He hadn't seen those two since noon.

It came to the point that he had almost memorized every palm tree and store at the beach. Palm tree number four was where he saw Hatsume, who seems to advertise something that a local vendor was selling. Must be a quick racket for quick money or something. Palm tree number five is where Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Hagakure and Ojiro were, with Present Mic. Midnight went off to her own patrolling shift long ago, replacing Aizawa's shift. Palm tree number six is where--

"Ow..." 

He heard a small sound of distress as his leg bumped onto something. Looking down, he saw a child with silver hair and big eyes. "O-onii-san, have you seen Ai-zawa?" The child had a small lisp, though she seems old enough to speak coherently.

He bent down and raised a brow. "Aizawa-sensei?" he asked, receiving a small nod from the little girl. Now that he thought about it, he had seen his adviser walk past Palm Tree No. 9 to buy some drinks or something. The child doesn't seem to be a villain and also, she's kind of familiar. He had seen her somewhere before, maybe in U.A..

"Uh, yeah, sure." He stood, offering his hand for the lost child to hold. "I'm Todoroki, Aizawa-sensei's student, and you are?" 

"Eri."

She doesn't seem to look particularly like Aizawa, so he must be her babysitter or uncle. Or worse, her father. He never knew that Aizawa had a wife. _A silver-haired and red-eyed wife._  He sure noted that for a future conspiracy theory.

He looked around, both for the sign of Aizawa and Uraraka. They were walking past Palm tree number 5 when he felt Eri lag behind. He looked down, seeing her stare at an apple core that she held. He stared dumbfoundedly for a few seconds before it clicked.

"Do you...want another one?"

At his sudden question, Eri jumped up slightly in surprise and looked up at him. She shyly nodded and held the apple core close. _She must have apples as her favorite_ , Todoroki thought. _When someone had a favorite food, they don't want it to run out, right?_ At least he himself doesn't want his soba to run out...

The thought of Aizawa holding an apple sparked an image in his head that is definitely cheating. A tall, lanky black monster that is associated with a powerful notebook. It didn't come from his anime, so it counts as a nomination for Top Ten Anime Betrayals. He's in BNHA/MHA,  god ~~damn~~ it.

He saw a fruit stand and saw apples that hadn't been made into a juice yet. He managed to buy them for half the price (since it isn't juice yet) and gave it to Eri who almost teared up at the sight of a new apple.

"Eri."

The two of them looked at the side, where he saw his teacher crouching down and extending his hands forward. Eri went up to Aizawa and showed him the apple he bought for her. Todoroki waved and Aizawa gave him his thanks. Before he could ask if Eri was a lovechild of some sort, a blinding flash that only came from a camera suddenly went off from the side.

_Click!_

He looked at the side and saw Uraraka and Midoriya. Uraraka had a camera hanging from her neck, which made Todoroki question her about what she would do to the cameras. He held his own camera protectively. Midoriya held a cup of water and waved with a smile. Todoroki smiled back.

About time they met.

He finally found ~~his berries~~  his friends.

"Where have you been, Todoroki-kun?" Uraraka asked, walking closer. "Deku-kun and I just went to a barbecue party with 1-B!"

Wait, 1-B?!

_Deku...with 1-B?_

"And Shiketsu!" Midoriya added. 

Todoroki widened his eyes as if he was hit at the back while he was eating. "Shiketsu?" he blurted out.

Shiketsu? _Seriously?_

"Yep! I received Yaomomo's text and we went to fetch you. The barbecue are still in stock, don't worry, you could still eat," Uraraka showed him the text and led the way to said barbecue party.

They reached the place sooner than expected, it was just beside the gate. He smelled the grill and sighed. Now, Kirishima wasn't there to make smores with him.

"Miss the smores, _Shoucchan_?" Midoriya grinned at him mischievously. Todoroki tried his hardest to ignore the nickname the green-haired teen calls him when he's teasing him. 

"What?" he asked. _Was he really that readable nowadays?_

"Aw, Kirishima-kun is busy with Bakugou-kun!" Uraraka winked, showing a video from their class group chat. It was sent by Denki, and it was clear that Bakugou and Kirishima were having some time together at the jacuzzi.

"No smores tonight. Don't miss it too much, Todoroki-kun, that's okay..."

Shall the heavens help him stop himself before he gets externally flustered with Midoriya. Of Deku. Of _Izuku_.

When they turned around the corner, the first thing Todoroki saw wasn't the bright red grill. It was a shirtless Monoma laying on the towel laid flat on the grassy ground with barbecue sauce on his chest and nipples. He recognized Awase, who Yaoyorozu introduced him as the one that saved her before. He was pouring the sauce onto the blond's chest. Ibara and Kendou were playing chess at the picnic tables, with Kendou bent over and laughing her life out of her body.

"M-monoma-kun?" Uraraka snorted. Midoriya snickered, sitting next to Kendou. Todoroki, however, missed out.

"S-sen went upstairs, he told me to-- _HAHAHA_ \--tell you to take care of the camera," Kendou said between laughter, trembling as she moved her knight piece to kill Ibara's rook.

"Yes, he did. You are a miracle, Uraraka-san. Nobody was successful in borrowing Sen-kun's cameras before," Ibara smiled, the only one normal on the scene. "Additionally, Nagamasa-senpai and Seiji-senpai wishes us U.A students a great silent night. They have retreated to their quarters for the evening." Awase was filming as he poured the sauce on the blond for some reason.

Something was missing. Todoroki's senses made him count down onto _three, two, one..._

"Hello there, Canada. Jealous?" Monoma looked at him and smirked.

There we go.

"No. Why are you doing that to the sauce?" Todoroki asked, moving closer as Uraraka dragged him by the sleeves to sit next to Ibara in a small excuse. 

He smelled raw meat, which came from the cooler. Lifting it in curiousity, he saw raw barbecue in a tupperware container.

"We have nobody to grill them after they left. We only have Sen-kun, but he went upstairs in his room," Uraraka explained, sparking an idea in his head and an irrational itch in his palms. It wasn't the type of itch when he's getting loose control over his quirk, though. It was _different_. 

"And Kosei-kun and Hiryu-kun went with Sen-kun," Ibara added. "They are the only ones who could cook food decently, in favor to the heavens who had not forbid us from tasting such miracles."

_That's it._ He pushed his sleeves up to his elbows and washed his hands on the sink near the grill. In the background, Kendou recovered from her laughing medley.

"What are you doing, Canada?" Monoma called after him. "Ignoring me?"

He ignored him.

"Ha! You're just jealous because I have a big di--"

"Oh, is that why you act like one, Neito?" Kendou appeared beside the blond and karate chopped the ground beside the blond's head. It made the blond shut up anyway, much to Todoroki's gratefulness. "Watch your language, Neito. You're in public with barbecue sauce on your chest." 

Meanwhile, Todoroki made his own batch. He could say he was pretty talented in grilling and frying. When he was young, he used to experiment with frying eggs in his hand when his dad wasn't home. That was before he vowed to never use that quirk ever again.

The barbecues were done not too soon later. Served on the plate were the last seven servings. Todoroki still made Monoma's despite the blond being  _two_ _inches_ away from getting on his nerves. He stayed stone-faced, despite the thoughts running through his head. 

_He missed the grill._ There. He's honest. Sometimes there was this desire to use and experiment with his fire quirk as much as he experimented with his ice one, and he could release it _safely_ and legally in cooking.

"Speaking of, Yaoyorozu and I met Inasa and Camie earlier," he added, hearing Shiketsu in the conversation. It was steering towards how his barbecue was so different from how Nagamasa cooked them (both have world-class quality and only different techniques).

"Really?" Midoriya asked, looking at him with wide eyes. Todoroki could guess he was still uneasy around Camie. He could assure Midoriya she's alright and who he had encountered in the exam was someone else, but still, the trauma was still there.

Trauma is a big word to use, though.

"You're such an asshole, Canada. You're picking enemies from _Shiketsu_? You're insane!" Monoma said as he scarfed Todoroki's barbecue in a few seconds. 

"‎I know something was wrong with his mental state," Todoroki said.

"Are you talking about Inasa or Monoma-kun?" Uraraka whispered in amusement. They hummed in satisfaction as they ate and Todoroki couldn't be happier that his food turned out great. Maybe if there comes a point he does get suspended from hero work, he could be some sort of chef instead. He won't mind as long as he still shows the world what it means to be a hero. What it means to serve. A hero doesn't always have the title. Sometimes heroes are in the kitchens, making food for people. Sometimes heroes are right beside you, eating your creation with love that you wish was yo--

No. Stop, Shouto. _That's too far._

"Ugh, you're doing  _that_ face again. I'm starting to feel like I want to slap you, Canada," Monoma smirked at him, gesturing towards Midoriya and winking at him. 

Update: He's  _one_ inch away from getting on his nerves. 

"No, you're just a ~~bitch~~ ," Awase pushed him back on his seat and pushed a glass of water to the blond. Icyhot mentally gave Awase a round of applause.

As Todoroki amused himself at the sight of Monoma getting pushed back at his chair by Kendou and Awase: 

" ~~Bitch~~ , we're all going to hell," Monoma pushed Kendou and Awase's hands away from him, grabbing his towel and moving to the showers. "Goodbye, suckers."

"Someone stop him from taking mouthwash shots," Kendou said blankly. 

Awase slammed his hand on the table, making everyone jump. The dark-haired teen groaned and left after the blond while half-stomping. "God ~~damn~~ , it's always me, Ken!"

While Ibara was genuinely enjoying the taste of his creation, he cannot help but listen to Uraraka and Midoriya's conversation, now that Monoma was gone. 

"The barbecue was better when Todoroki-kun grilled them. Was that because of the fire, or the skills?"

Todoroki smugly leaned on the table and smirked to himself. He knew his cooking was top-notch, but hearing it from...from his _friend_  felt like it's raining money, anti-daddy issues and anti- ~~Endeavor~~ repellants. In other words, it felt _good_.

 

* * *

 

"I don't ship it. I luxury cruise-yacht-trawler that ~~shit~~." Hagakure snickered, winking at Ojiro as she explained how excited she was at Kirishima's confession. She broke the rules and told Ojiro, who in turn swore to keep it a secret. Ojiro himself knew that his long-time crush is terribly excited and he accepts that, it's just that he just doesn't understand it. _So what if Kirishima confesses? What benefit could it give Hagakure and the others?_ he wondered. 

With a sigh, he turned and made a beeline to the side of the pool area. He heard Shoji, Satou, Tsuyu and Aoyama needed assistance with the party. The jacuzzi area, which was at the other side of the building, was reportedly where Kirishima and Bakugou were, so they had made use of the time Kirishima bought them and started to prepare for the small party.

Hagakure followed him, though. Did it bother him? _No_. 

Did it make him feel weird?

_Yes_.

 

* * *

 

Shinsou thought the water was too cold, but whatever. He was used to cold showers anyway. Plus, they'll reserve the sauna later. It was Kirishima and Sero's idea, and that was one of the few things the Bakusquad planned that Shinsou actually agreed on. The sauna does sounds nice.

"Iida come down, the water's cool! It's not that deep..." Kaminari offered, even diving down to wet his hair. A dark black bracelet shone on his wrist, wet but sturdy. By Aizawa AND Iida's insistence, he wore a quirk-suppressing  bracelet. It was for the _greater good_.

Iida, who was sitting at the side of the pool,  complied and submerged himself, letting out a shaky, panicked breath. "Mothertrucker! That hit me like a buttcheek on a stick!"

Jirou, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari snorted. "Seriously Iida? "Mothertrucker"?" Kaminari laughed, splashing around and playing with the water. Shinsou decided to stick with Kaminari for the night, for there was a chance he'd miss the sauna if he left. It was 6:30pm, and he already was starting to get drowsy, but in this cold, there was _no way_ he'd fall asleep. He slept on the tub once and he woke up feeling and looking like a raisin in human skin. 

Yaoyorozu, Jirou and Iida joined the two of them (actually it was them who joined the three) at the pool as they waited for the party to start. It was Ashido, Shoji and Satou's duty to prepare the small rented area for the small celebration. It bought them time to relax for themselves for once. Shinsou turned his attention back to his group. 

"Kaminari with wet hair reminded me of the tomato game at the retreat," Jirou snorted, "remember?"

Shinsou did. "Denki spent the most time, right?" he teased, making the blond frown again and splash water on his face.

"Hey--"

"Yeah! Kaminari-kun, it took you eight seconds to suck one tomato from the water bowl and move it to the next bowl," Yaoyorozu snickered.

Back at the retreat, most games were planned by both Yaoyorozu and Midoriya (who was thinking of revenge the entire time), with Iida only handling the safety, the materials and the efficiency of the overall retreat. One of them was the tomato game, where one bowl was filled with water and tomatoes and the players have to transfer a tomato to the other bowl without using their hands. Obviously, they resorted to submerging their face on the water and sucking the tomatoes to transfer it to the next bowl (which was three feet away), getting both a free face wash, a god ~~damn~~ disease and a lifetime's worth of humiliation due to Mineta secretly filming everything.

Shinsou cannot ever forget that. It was Satou who won that round, transferring all nine tomatoes in fifteen seconds flat. The next one was Mineta, who did it in eighteen seconds. The one who took the longest was none other than Kaminari, who did it for fourty five seconds. He lost a lot at that retreat; some to name were his cool image and a part of his dignity.

"Dude, Kaminari losing was the best part," Jirou laughed, teasing him, "He was about to freaking cry in front of Vlad King and Aizawa! Haha!"

"No!" Kaminari immediately rolled his eyes and stood his ground. "The best part was Bakugou waking up outside, don't play with me."

"Oh! That! Haha!" Yaoyorozu remembered.

Shinsou cannot help but smirk at the memory. At their second night, Sero and Mineta decided to play a prank at Bakugou. They kept the plan to themselves. Once the blond went to sleep in their shared tent, they _miraculously_  managed to push Bakugou's futon out without waking him up and managed to carry both him and his futon out the front door and in the middle of the field in front of the retreat house. It didn't rain, and Bakugou only spent one and a half hour sleeping outside but he woke up everyone with the loudest scream of "What the ~~fUCK~~?!" at 4 in the morning. It was undeniably one of his _fondest_  memories now.

"Iida, what do you think is the best part?" Shinsou asked the teen in curiousity. Iida refrained from taking part in this teasing, yet it is obvious he still finds it funny.

Iida cleared his throat. "When Todoroki's group found the easter eggs?"

"OH!" Jirou almost choked at her own laugh. "Ha! Oh ~~fucking~~ ~~shit~~ , that's-- _HAHA_ \--yessss! The easter eggs!"

"Oh, Iida, why..." Kaminari sighed, splashing water to Jirou, who is dying in her laughter.

"Yes! The easter eggs! Todoroki found yours, Bakugou's, Sero's and his own, right? Dude, yours was the most iconic!" Jirou remarked, returning the water splashes. "Sero's was just him making a funny pose and Bakugou's was just him glaring at the camera, but yours--HAHAHAHA! Iconic!"

"Uh guys, what about the bonfire after the easter egg hunt?" Iida steered the conversation away, not able to handle making one of his classmates (and one with the deadliest quirks too) upset. "Uraraka played the guitar and everyone shared something they want to share."

Much to Kaminari's relief, Jirou got distracted. "Hahaha, oh yeah? Oh! Yes, the bonfire!" She smiled, placing an arm around Yaoyorozu's shoulder. Unbenownst to her, Yaoyorozu's cheeks sported a hint of red. "Yaomomo, Todoroki-kun, Deku-kun, Tsu-chan and I all came out! We had the best freaking class group hug ever!"

"Yeah..." Yaomomo shifted, lowering herself lower on the water that she, except for the eyes, was underwater. Shinsou could still see that her cheeks was flaming red.

"Are you sure you're bisexual, Jirou?" Kaminari asked, eyebrows raised in mischief. "Didn't you tell me you're--"

"Shut the ~~fuck~~ up," Jirou placed her hand on his face, keeping him an arm's length away. "You can throw your unnecessary ~~shit~~ on that trash can over there."

Kaminari groaned, rolling his eyes. "Tch, you're always mean to me," he pouted. "But yeah, you guys came out. Why didn't Kirishima?"

"Everyone already knows he's gay, okay? There's no point in coming out if he already did," Shinsou replied quickly. "Stupid, you just wasn't there." There was no bite in his words, he kept his smirk, and it was fun teasing Kaminari sometimes. He once teased him so bad that he cried, and Shinsou had to buy him a new power bank just so they'd be friends again.

Well, yeah. He enjoys being Kaminari's friend, sure, _whatever. So what?_

"No, I'm not stupid. I'm different," the blonde rolled his eyes and floated on his back, closing his eyes. It was the second excuse he heard him say from being stupid.

"That reminds me, why didn't Bakugou come out too?" Iida suddenly blurted out, making everyone pause and look towards him. "We all had the hint he was asexual, but why didn't he?"

Bakugou? _Asexual_?

"No, Iida-kun, I'm pretty sure he isn't asexual," Yaoyorozu pushed herself up to speak, lowering back down after she spoke. "I mean, we found his tumblr and we saw that he supports the bisexual community and the LGBTQ as a whole. There is a high chance he's bi."

"Whatever his sexuality is, the question is why didn't he explicitly say anything? I mean, he admitted on having a middle school crush and leaving hearts doodled on his crush's locker, so his pride wasn't in the picture," Shinsou clarified.

Jirou hummed before groaning, running a frustrated hand on her face. "Aunt Mitsuki should've dealt with him before he grew up to be such a problem," she said, splashing her face with the water. "His mom's incredibly nice when he had us come over (so that he could freaking prove to his parents that he, a _greatest normalest most sociable_  person ever, have _friends_  other than Midoriya), and his father's a blessing, what happened to him?"

"It's ironic he calls other people "nerds" when he himself had the best grades," Kaminari mumbled. "I'd kill (a villain, mind you) for those straight A's, man. His attitude is sometimes annoying, but he's kinda nice, really. Trust me."

"It's just you and Kirishima that he doesn't assault as often as us. Mina and Hanta once got sent because Bakugou threw them a three-inch binder out of sheer anger," Jirou retorted back.

"Why didn't Kirishima admit his feelings right then, if he isn't as abused as the others?" Yaoyorozu asked. "I know I'm part of the operation but I'm still left out." She lowered herself on the water again.

"You know, sometimes I think that our leader is an idiot."

"Who are you referring to? Blasty or Rocky?" Shinsou smirked.

Jirou splashed water onto his direction. "Tch, shut up." She sighed. "I mean Bakugou. Whether or not Kirishima says it out loud and spells it in front of his face, he should already know by now! Who even is _that_ dense when Kirishima is literally acting like the _bestest best_ friend ever to him? Argh, those two irritate me sometimes."

Jirou lowered her head onto the water to wet her hair. The group fell onto a short moment of silence as the white noise of the private resort rang by their ears.

It was incredibly relaxing, swimming with your peers. These guys were the first ones to tell him he could be a great hero, instead of being a great villain. There are people who look like heroes with the heart and desire of a villain. There are also some people who seem like villains but had the heart of a hero. Shinsou firmly believes he was the latter, and he will live up for it. If others had All Might to look up to, he had Eraserhead.

Eraserhead made him understand heroic heroes and villainous villains are in fact, rare.

Perhaps the reason why he and Bakugou can't just get along is that they're the same. Positive cannot attract positive. They're both villainous heroes, born with the pure desire of saving people but with the appearance and attitude of a villain. That doesn't invalidate them as potential heroes, since heroes aren't perfect. All Might himself isn't, Endeavor _definitely_ isn't, so why should they force themselves to be perfect when there is _no point_?

These Class 1-A guys happened to prove him that. Heroes aren't always buff, or tall, or confident, or spews amazing promises or had the strongest, most amazing quirks. We have Tamaki Amajiki, whose quirk is taking form of the food he eats and had social anxiety, but he came out to be one of the Big Three. We have Bakugou Katsuki, whose foul mouth and general rude attitude inspired hatred from Class 1-B and likeness from the League of Villains, but he came out to be one of the best and most valuable students of U.A. Shinsou also heard of Seiji Shishikura, whose quirk is freaking _meatball_ , but he is one of the most dignified and strongest in the Exam. He heard it took three U.A students (who are Bakugou, Kirishima and Kaminari) to bring Seiji down.

His friends are also proof of that. They will all be future heroes, and today will become another memory they will soon look back to. Don't get him wrong, he appreciates memories and having fun, and he isn't lying when he said he won't trade his friends for anything else in the whole world.

Maybe except the rarest, _most amazing_ cat, but aside from that, nothing else could match the worth of his friends.

"But at least we have each other," Iida says, gaining everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Shinsou looked at him and raised a brow.

"I mean, a retreat is a retreat because it lets us relax. It only prepares us for something new. Knowing I still have you guys in that "new thing" is comforting..."

Denki nudged him, smiling. "Don't be so dramatic, class rep. Scold me to get away from the water, come on."

Shinsou, for the first time that day, took a part in sharing a hearty laugh with his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste of Blueberries On Fruit Cans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓  
> Chapter 3: Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid ✓  
> Chapter 4: Eri's Apple Cores and Todoroki Misses The Smores ✓
> 
> Iida closed to notepad partially, smiling at the class photo he taped to the notepad's cover. He values his friends no matter what, and it's his duty to become a responsible class rep and protect them. Even if that meant sitting on the End Notes on his arm chair with nothing but Ojiro's old notepad and a pencil.
> 
> Yes, even if that meant he'd sit through this entire story.
> 
> //"Roses are red, Violets are blue, Bakugou goes to bed at eight thirty two" is a tweet by @mmakkachin! Made me laugh lol (≧▽≦)//  
> //Kaminari's shirt that says 'Til death, we do art is real. I don't advertise it nor do I have the shirt myself, but it's just that...ugh it's Kaminari. Please don't hate me.//  
> //Total number of Vine References:卌 III//
> 
> Next up:  
> -The two bros chillin at the hot tub (KIRIBAKUUUUU)  
> -Gifts for lil explosive boii (lol Todoroki nooo staph the sass-)
> 
>  


	5. To The Only Friend I Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eijirou and Bakugou sitting in jacuzzi, T-A-L-K-I-N-G.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //inspired by A World Alone, Still Sane and Ribs by Lorde//

It was a warm night. The jacuzzi heated up and all Eijirou wanted was to lie on his back and relax. That is, if he won't slip down and drown because sure as hell the water would carry him away. Instead, he gave a short relieved sigh.

It was weird, actually. When he's alone, he gets flustered a whole ~~damn~~ lot, but right now that Katsuki is five feet away from him, he felt stable. Maybe he's a good actor. _Or not._ If heroism failed, he could go to the theater and, _like_ , play Juliet or _something_.

Scratch thatーhe's utterly  _unstable._ All his senses are going on overdrive! It's a good thing he's submerged on water or else he'd be sweating and fidgeting! 

_Be a man_ , he told himself. He took a deep breath and told himself to chill. He got this, it's his Bakubro.

"Your birthday's today. How old are you then?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Seventeen," Katsuki answered.

They have been in the jacuzzi for a few minutes and it's like a shower: at first you have qualms about going on but when you did, you don't want to get out anymore.

"You're actually the oldest one in the class--"

"So what are you implying, ~~Shitty~~ -Hair?! Huh?!" Katsuki growled, scooting his feet closer and thomping on the redhead's foot.

"Ow! Chill! Didn't mean anything by that!" He laughed, missing the angry man he grew to... _y'know, like_.

Katsuki retreated, scoffing. His head craned to look at a passing waiter, receiving the two root beer cans he ordered and passing one to the redhead, with Kirishima barely catching it.

The redhead had no idea what came over him, but without a beat, he said the words he didn't particularly thought of speaking.

"Thanks, Katsu." His eyes widened in realization while he was in the middle of popping the can open, the sound of it echoing in his head. He opened his mouth to correct himself, but it was too lateーKatsuki is already looking at him with a raised brow.

" _Katsu_?"

"Wait, no! I mean..."

_Think_ , Kirishima.

"I mean, I call Ashido as Ashie, Kaminari as Den, and Sero as Han. Just got used to the one to two syllable nicknames--"

"Shut up. Stop mumbling like ~~shitty~~ Deku. Don't stress me on my last ~~fucking~~ moments as a sixteen-year-old, ~~asshole~~ ," Katsuki interrupted, looking back ahead and placing the root beer can to his lips and took a swing.

Eijirou relaxed, giving an internal sigh. He took a sip of his own root beer and sighed, the sweet, bubblegum-like scent he could smell and taste in his breath. Never before did he think of the word "Katsu" as a nickname, but now that he said it out loud, that seems...adorable.

Katsuki and Adorable DO go together.

"Wait, so I can call you Katsu?"

The blond looked around, taking another sip. He actually looked somber and calm, which he only shows around people that isn't the Bakusquad and the Dekusquad. "That's _King ~~Fucking~~ Katsuki_ for you."

Underneath the actual literal meaning of the word, Eijirou learned to lean close and hear the message at the undertones.

_I don't mind._

Eijirou smiled. 

His feelings were still conflicted. Yes, he confirmed he was gay a long time ago, but _so what? What for? For who?_

Katsuki.

It's Katsuki.

_I_ _t's_ _always Katsuki_ , he laughed by himself. He saw the said blond look at him weirdly at the corner of his eyes and he returned the glance with a shake of his head. _It's nothing_ , he wanted to say, _I just remembered a funny memory_. But he stayed silent, as he knew Katsuki understood too anyway. 

The blond was, at first, his best bro. All Eijirou ever wanted was to find a friend that would stay with him for loooooong, even perhaps staying as the best man or the maid of honor at his future wedding with his future spouse. Then he met Den, Ashie and Hanー _the Idiots™_. Those three were definitely groomsmen and bridesmaid material, and that's exactly when he failed.

No, he didn't fail in assuming Den, Ashie and Han would be his entourage. He failed _Mathematics_. That's when Katsuki came and helped him.

Back then, all Eijirou thought was that Katsuki was manly, so respect was drawn on their relationship. It sounded really simple if you put it that way, but it was a huge thing for Eijirou. If he failed his general average, he'd be kicked out of U.A. Then, while Katsuki was saving his life by teaching him quadratic and radical equations, he got to a realization that maybe, _just maybe_ , Katsuki would be a candidate for that one friend he had been looking for his whole life. Not too soon, he got the three Idiots™ roped into his new interest in befriending the livid blond, and the rest is history. Somewhere along the way, Eijirou realized that maybe Katsuki's place in the wedding scenario he had been dreaming of was as _his spouse_ , not as a part of the entourage. It was absolutely corny and hard to deal with at first, but who knew his friends were more than willing to help him accept his feelings?

The retreat was fun and all, but he absolutely regretted not clearing up _everything_ there. Now's his last chance, he wanted to clear things for himself, so _shall Katsuki forgive him if by any chance Eijirou would ruin his seventeenth birthday_.

"How do you want your birthday to go?" he suddenly asked.

_Because even though he prepared comebacks in case his confession broke Katsuki's day instead of making it;_ he still wanted to play it right by having tips and research on the blond's preferences.

"Hm?" the blond turned his head toward his direction, almost jumping from the sudden question. Eijirou took a deep breath and summoned the legit curiousity from his question. He himself likes the traditional birthday parties, but manlier. Still, he likes celebrating it, no matter how old he got.

"I mean, I want mine to just be me and my friends at home playing card games or maybe even have some fun at some nearby billiard house. Even if there's no cake, like last year, as long as there is ice cream or popsicles for everyone, I'm good!"

He watched as red eyes trailed from him to the water, with the blond tapping the water surface as he stayed silent for a while.

"I like being alone on my birthday."

"Oh that's coo--wait, what?" Eijirou paused. _Did Katsuki just say "alone"_?

"Alone? On your birthday?" Oh god, what a nightmare that was. Apparently, for Bakubro, it's not.

"I used to have big birthday parties when I was younger, but even back then I sneak to the rooftop at night to recollect my thoughts and enjoy the silence."

Eijirou watched in wonder. If this was a movie, it would be like a bar scene where Katsuki was telling the most tragic of his backstories while slamming the empty whiskey shot on the bar counter, but instead, Katsuki just looked lost while sitting at a jacuzzi in a private resort. Then, for a second, the daze in his red eyes was gone and became a glare directed towards him. It went from 0-99 in a millisecond.

"Don't you dare tell--"

"No!" He immediately waved his hands around, partially protective from the supposed incoming punches or explosions from the blond but thankfully, none came. "You told me 42 of your secrets and I've never told one of them to anyone.

The blond raised a brow, the glare disappearing. Eijirou watched as he seemed to mumble something, hearing something like "You're keeping track?" or maybe "What the ~~fuck~~?"ーhe wasn't sure which. Knowing him, the latter is the nearest to reality.

Katsuki cleared his throat, turning his head and starting to rant. "My birthday is for me. Why should I prepare food for everyone when it is _my_  birthday? Shouldn't it be the other ~~fucking~~ way around?" He took another swing of the root beer.

"Huh? You want others to treat you--?"

"Interrupt me one more ~~fucking~~ time and I'll tell everyone your ~~shitty~~ -hair is dyed, ~~Shitty~~ -Hair."

Eijirou opened his mouth to protest, but closed it without saying anything. Speaking wasn't worth it. Only Katsuki and Kaminari knew the _thing_  about his hair, and Kaminari didn't fail (wow) from keeping it a secret (yet).

Katsuki cleared his throat again. "Whatever. Like I'd ruin your reputation over such stupid ~~fucking~~ thing." The blond took another sip and down the root beer. "So worthless, tch."

Eijirou sighed in bliss. He definitely did not expect that, but he's glad he didn't. He really was lucky that the blond is starting to warm up to others. Yes, the occasional violence is still there but Katsuki never really bullied anyone anymore. His "I hate everyone because I hate everyone" turned to "I only hate everyone who hates _me_ " then finally, to "I hate everyone who hates my friends". Yes, he still hates certain people but not everyone anymore! It's a progress.

Lately, Katsuki seemed to be giving him this weird feeling. He doesn't know if it was just because he had been used to using his brain at his afternoon study sessions with Katsuki, but when the blond is nearby, his imagination and insquisitive side awakens. His mind wanders onto the cosmos, and everything just connects to Katsuki in some way. Probably because Katsuki taught him Science too, about the cosmos and the nearby stars and what the colors of the stars meant. It would be overly unmanly if he said some corny thing about comparing Katsuki to the stars, space or the sky, but he won't because he doesn't need to.

_Because Katsuki understands._  He understands even if everything is a mess. Even if his mind was in chaos. Even if the world is chaos and Eijirou is lagging behind.

"Do you think the world is just...noisy? Busy?"

It was a question he asked life itself, while looking at the stars. Ever since the blond taught him additional middle school info about space, he started stargazing every night before bed. It lets his mind roam free. Even the manliest need to go stargazing sometimes...(what?)

Katsuki stayed silent. He continued.

"Everyone had their own thing to do, y'know? Their own businesses to manage. Their places to go. It almost seems like I'm falling behind," he said, tracing circles on the water surface and tapping his foot at the tiled flooring.

"The ~~fuck~~ does this have anything to do with my birthday?" Katsuki asked, his profanities having less bite than normal. Eijirou met his gaze and looked back down.

"When you said you wanted to be alone on your special day just reminded me of my own retreat: stargazing." He looked up, barely seeing the stars. If this was a romance movie, it would be the perfect moment to say some sappy ass shit about the stars, but this wasn't a romance movie at all. "The stars can't be really seen tonight because the lights were still on, but I bet they'd shine by the beach."

He thought he was getting ignored, but what met him on the blond's side was a small snort. "You like stargazing?" Katsuki raised a mischievous brow and a small sick grin, "And here I almost ~~fucking~~ thought you're actually manly."

As much as Eijirou wanted to hear Katsuki laugh more often, he took a deep breath and tried not to think too much about it. He could get flustered later.

"Manly?" he asked. "Recollecting your thoughts isn't exactly connected to gender...? I mean, stargazing is something sappyー _I get it_ , couples do thatーbut the thoughts that run through your head, _weren't they interesting_? It doesn't have to be particularly manly, _bro."_

He's just casually friendzoning (brozoning?) him in case Katsuki would friendzone him later.

Katsuki stared, settling back down. He reached foe his can and tried to take a sip, but he already downed it minutes ago. Eijirou heard him mumble, and he could only hope it was an apology.

"We are in a rocky ball in an infinitely wide universe, floating in the middle of nowhere, at the same time, everywhere. And here I was, whose existence isn't that much of a difference to do anything to change the universe. I could only look up at the stars and stare."

Katsuki was silent. Eijirou was too. It was like that for a while, with his words hanging in the air and the winds blowing at their faces and sending small shivers down their spines. Eijirou enjoyed the silence, smiling to himself as he counted down silently in his head, turning to the blond with a knowing glance.

Katsuki returned the glance with his own small smirk. "Is that a quote from the movie I lent you?"

Eijirou knew he'd notice. Of course it had to be quote! There's no way in heaven and earth that he'd make up that intellectual nerd stuff! His grin went wider and offered his fist, which Katsuki met with his own fist. Fistbumps were cool.

He doesn't know a shit about the universe except the ones Katsuki explained to him, but the stargazing part wasn't a lie. He really had stargazing as a retreatーas his personal form of meditation. "You noticed, bro!" he exclaimed. _I bothered to memorize that,_  he wanted to say.

"What a ~~fucking~~ sappy quote that was," Katsuki said, shaking his head. He paused, the grins subsiding into small smiles. In Katsuki's case, a normal expression. " _Yes, we are in a stupidly insignificant noisy world_. Stopping to take note of who you are and how insignificant you are to the universe helps a ~~fucking~~ lot. 'Can't even describe the ~~shitty~~ feeling but it is still stupidly amazing as _~~fuck~~_."

Eijirou smiled as Katsuki replied the next dialogue in the movie after that quote, which was "Yes, we are in a stupidly insignificant noisy world." He knew Katsuki knows a lot, being a Straight A student and one of the best in U.A and all, but he definitely had an interesting wording.

"Got that right. But...you said you wanted your birthday to be spent alone."

The blond glanced at him. "...Yeah?"

"Do you think you'll accomplish that in this situation? You're surrounded, you're in a hotel with many people you don't know, and I think you are aware of the party later--"

"...Party?"

~~_** Oh shit.**_~~

"I mean--"

Katsuki raised a hand to stop him, casually looking away and relaxing his shoulders. "I don't really care. Even if there is a ~~fucking~~ huge celebration I'd just hideaway anyway."

Eijirou stared at him with a small frown. He looked down to the water, which was starting to reflect blue as the orange post-sunset sky turned completely black. "You really like being alone so much?" he whispered. Though, that whisper must have been louder than he intended to be, because Katsuki replied.

"Yeah."

He looked up, almost guiltily. "Am I being a bother to you right now?"

"Ye--what?"

Eijirou settled back on his place and played with the water. He heard Katsuki groan, his voice getting louder like his normal volume.

"What the ~~fuck,~~ Kirishima. You're freaking me out. Act ~~fucking~~ normal," Katsuki complained, pushing water to his direction that it splashed against his face. The redhead nervously laughed and wipes the water from his face.

"Can't help it."

"Can't help what, ~~fucker~~?"

_Man up, Kirishima._ Just. Say. It. 

He suspired and looked at him right in the eyes. "Being weird," he clarified, "I'm getting busy. Checking up on my family, keeping up school work, budgeting my money, socializing, _the usual stuff I do_. Lately there's this new thing that just...makes me feel agitated, you know?"

And that one thing is you, Katsuki.

Katsuki looked at him unimpressed, like a mother seeing her kid at the backyard stuck in a tree. "The retreat already happened and you still feel agitate--"

"I know! It's a mistake. I thought I could come back to Japan with a clear head, so I hope nobody minds that I act a bit off while I'm still here." The conversation was funny because Katsuki had absolutely no idea.

Katsuki looked back ahead and placed his hands behind his neck and leaned back. "Don't you always act a bit off? It's just that ~~fucking~~ Dunce Face and Raccoon Eyes are just as ~~fucking~~ crazy as you."

Eijirou smiled a bit at the insult "Thanks, I guess...?"

"And the ~~fucking~~ retreat?" the blond continued, "Didn't relax at all too, ~~fuck.~~ All I did was pay you for the hairgel and the glass I broke--"

He remembered, widening his eyes. "Oh, right! You bought the hairgel for me, I'm gonna pay yo--"

"Oh ~~fuck~~ here they go. I better hide now," Katsuki glared, rolling his eyes.

The redhead was dumbfounded more than anything. "What?" He glanced forward, right where the blond was glaring at, and saw Tsuyu, Mineta and Shoji approaching them.

"If you want to talk, _424_ ," Katsuki said, slamming a hand on the surface and making water splash again in frustration.

Eijirou got more confused. "What? Four two--"

He tried not to get distracted and watch a little too close as Katsuki pulled himself up from the jacuzzi, his naked torso and abs glistening with water droplets that sparkled. Katsuki looked down upon him, his red eyes reflecting the blue from the water

~~"Dumbass.~~ " _Call me then_ ". That's what 424 means, ~~Shitty~~ Hair."

_It was overdrive! Mission abort! Eijirou would malfunction!_  his mind screamed. Katsuki, shirtless and wet saying that Eijirou should call him iS SHORTCIRCUITING HIS BRAIN WORSE THAN KAMINARI GETTING STUPID!

"Call...you?"

Katsuki rolled his eyes and got his towel from the nearby pool chair. The wet footsteps he made no sound, only the water droplets hitting the floor as he walked. "Are you sure you don't want my ~~fucking~~ hearing aids because it seems you are the one with the ~~fucking~~ ear impair right now."

"N-no, thanks," Eijirou said, retrieving his gaze and looking back down the pool in the most casual way he can. "Uhh, yeah I guess whatever," he said. He cannot help but look back up to the blond who wrapped the towel around his shoulders and started to walk away. "A-are you cold?" he called.

"No! I ~~fucking~~ shiver for fun, ~~dumbass!"~~

With the blond out of sight, his momentary daze dropped and he laughed. ~~Damn~~ , wasn't that moment exciting?

He knew this feeling is dumb, but he likes it. So ~~damn~~ much. _It was always Katsuki..._

 

* * *

 

"Come in, it's alright," Uraraka welcomed the two boys inside the room. She immediately went for her bed and had the Todoroki and Deku carry the heavy luggage to the floor. The green-haired teen had put some of his own things on her larger bag because his own carry was full enough. 

Checking her phone, it was currently 7:32 and Uraraka was so excited. Her final qualm about the party was if Bakugou pushed her down the pool if he opened her gift, but she mentally prepared herself for that possible scenario. Now, all she wanted to do is celebrate!

No, she's not celebrating because there will be food or because they will be swimming, but because she legitimately wanted to see how Bakugou would react to a gathering purely dedicated to him. Yes, he's an _egotistic_ ~~bastard~~ , but what about something offered to him that was kindly and voluntarily given (and also one that he didn't ask for)?

Yes, she still hates the guy but as a classmate and a future hero, maybe that excitement just went naturallyーdoing good for someone else. 

She stood by the doorway as she let Deku get his stuff on her bag. She watched in amusement Deku's expressions when he pulled out her baby powder, her baby lotion and her pink teddy bear.

"Why do you pack so much unnecessary stuff?" Deku asked in exasperation, digging deep on the bag for his own things. Uraraka laughed.

She went closer and retrieved her black and pink tumbler at the side of her bed. She maintained eye contact with Todoroki as she drank, the scent of the liquid inside filling the room.

"You brought soda?"

Uraraka glanced at the half-blonde, half-redhead, smirking. "Heh. I'd kill for soda..."

"But you didn't kill anyone?" Midoriya asked in concern, sharing a knowing glance with Todoroki.

Her smirk went wider. "Make a guess."

The three went downstairs, using the elevator. The walls of the lift was tinted glass, and the walls surrounding the machine was glass as well, providing spectacular view of the beach on a starry night. Todoroki snapped a quick picture using his camera the moment the elevator doors opened.

The three beelined for their side of the resort, reserved by U.A. The class didn't particularly invite anyone, so anyone could be there as long as they presented an I.D. Teachers and the members of the faculty sat in the pool chairs.

"That--That kid! That kid that does nothing but stare on his palms all day!" Midnight ranted. "How could I grade such child?"

"In Shota's case, we have to watch the surveillance cameras at his grocery store activity to make sure nobody died that time," Yamada added.

Todoroki, Uraraka and Midoriya tried their best to ignore them and their...statements.

The tall redhead's attention was caught by the waves at the water. The school managed to reserve the best pool in the resort all to themselves. All for Bakugou's birthday. Todoroki shook the thoughts of the rude blond in his head and focused on his own thoughts. "I miss the aquarium..."

"Oh?" Midoriya looked at him, "I miss it too! I wanna buy Uraraka one of the iconic keychains they sell." He grinned. The grin fell when he slipped at the tiles near the pool and hopefully Todoroki and Uraraka were there to catch him before he fell.

Uraraka saw the taller teen walk silently after that, rolling her eyes and taking note of a future operation. She'd name it _Operation: TodoDeku_. She snapped her fingers at herself, watching the two lovestruck idiots with the thickest skulls ever. "Bonehead."

Her eyes caught a waving hand by the pool, seeing Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Iida, Denki and Shinsou already dipped near the side.

"Uraraka! Over here!" Yaomomo called.  Uraraka unzipped her jacket and wore her white swimming shirt underneath and jumped close, surprising Todoroki and Deku by the sudden splash. According to their expressions, they thought Uraraka fell until the jacket she threw landed on Deku's head.

She hoped she didn't dive though, since the water was _cold_.

She was immediately greeted by Yaomomo and Jirou's hugs, with the taller teen dragging her somewhere. The boys, Denki, Shinsou and Iida, shared a look.

_Girls_.

With a slight shake of his head, the yellow-blond continued their conversation. It was just a few minutes 'til 8, so they could buy a few more moments to talk before the party. Once the party starts, it cannot be stopped. Plus, Kirishima and Bakugou still aren't present, so that's another thing. Tsuyu, Mineta and Shoji went to look for Bakugou a few minutes ago and still hasn't returned.

"I got him noise cancelling headphones..." he said; they were talking about their gifts to the blond. Kaminari busied himself by fidgeting with the quirk-supressing bracelet on his wrists, but he didn't fail in catching Shinsou shaking his head.

"Rich kids nowadays..."

Kaminari looked at him unimpressed, grabbing a random floating water gun (that's somehow convenient...) and pointed it at Shinsou, getting the mini-Aizawa right on the face.

"Hey, I'm not that rich," he said, enjoying the sight of Shinsou trying to cover his face from the water gun.

"You spent that much?" Iida asked, his arms crossed across his chest and is the most submerged out of all three of them. Shinsou had his elbows supporting him, placed above the poolside while the water level was just right by his shoulders.

As much as he wants to point the water gun to Iida as well, he just played with the water as he replied with a shrug, "I just wanna spend for my bestfriend, you know." 

"Shinsou-kun isn't your bestfriend, Kaminari-kun?" Iida asked, eyed wide open.

Before Kaminari could reply, two sets of legs appeared right behind Iida and Shinsou. Looking up, he was met by Midoriya and Todoroki. The two sat at the pool side, letting their legs get used to the temperature before moving in.

"Ohhh, discussing the party tomorrow..." the green-haired teen waved, smiling warmly. "Iida-kun, what did you have for Kacchan?"

Meanwhile, Todoroki is clearly trying hard not to stare at the rubber duck Ashido was waving at him at the girls' side of the pool.

Iida pushed his glasses up, but just pokes himself in the nose due to the lack of said glasses. "A set of hearing aids that have less feedback," he said, smiling in pride as he continued, "I had noticed that Bakugou-kun doesn't wear his hearing aids often, especially in trainings, and I supposed that was due to the irritating feedback from loud noises."

Kaminari rolled his eyes and grabbed the water gun that almost floated away on the water. Squirting water at Iida, he rolled his eyes again. "And you said I spent too much..."

He turned his head to see Shinsou, who is in turn looking at Todoroki, who was still sitting at the edge of the pool. Kaminari was about to say something about making the pool warmer from the half-blonde half-redhead's quirk, but Shinsou snapped his fingers to gain the attention of the tall teen.

"What did you get for Blasty?"

Their side of the pool was overcame with quietness in anticipation of the answer coming from Todoroki. The teen in question was staring at the pool and almost acted as if he didn't hear the question at all, until he looked up ahead and said in the most serious voice ever...

"A stress ball."

".....What?" he asked after a moment of silence.

All people in the group's fifteen meter radius craned their head at the boys, with Iida and Kaminari almost drowning as they contained their laughter.

"God ~~damn~~ it, Todoroki, I'm going upstairs, that made my night!" Kaminari shakily tried to wade his way to the side in vain, instead colliding with Shinsou's chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste of Blueberries on Fruitcans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓  
> Chapter 3: Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid ✓  
> Chapter 4: Eri's Apple Cores and Todoroki Misses the Smores ✓  
> Chapter 5: To The Only Friend I Need ✓
> 
> Iida smiled. "Four more and this is done," he whispered to himself. 
> 
> Next Up:  
> ☆BAKUGOU'S PARTY FT:  
> -Shinsou and Monoma's never-before-seen friendship  
> -Shinsou Appreciation : )  
> -Bakugou and his gifts (lol)  
> -Speeches (aww)  
> -Kaminari eating soap (lol) 
> 
> TEASER: 
> 
> "It's nice to see someone who can appreciate my humor." 
> 
> "Humor? Monoma, that's bullying."


	6. Being Alone On Your Birthday 101 By Bakugou Katsuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinsou and Monoma's friendship mayyy be a little too...complicated. It's because they're both assholes, only different in the degree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //Reference to a Creepypasta. Do you think Katsuki would reference creepypastas?//  
> //No, I do not own Disney and again, not Pokemon either. Since I don't own Disney, I also do not own Cruella De Vil and the 101 Dalmatians.//

"Hey Denki, we're here, come out now."

Shinsou snorted, barely stifling the laughter. _As if Denki would actually come out._

Mina, Jirou, Sero and him were knocking on Denki and Eijirou's room for...longer than they wanted to. It was currently seven minutes until eight and Mina and Denki were needed as two of the five _masterminds_ of the celebration, but of course Denki just had to take _tooooo long_  to find a jacket and a shirt.

"He left fifteen minutes ago! Did he fall unconscious at his closet?" Mina questioned in frustration.

"Probably, he hadn't came out yet," Shinsou said, trying to stay straight-faced even though deep inside he was _ecstatic_ ;  _Shinsou: 1 Denki: 0_.

"Denki! We've been knocking for three whole minutes--!"

" _ ~~Damn~~ it_, let's just go inside," Jirou said, rolling her eyes and unplugging her earphone jacks from her phone, angrily turning the doorknob open. Denki and Eijirou's hotel room already smelled like them (since Eijirou's "manly" cologne is basically _everywhere_ ) and on the beds were some of the the two boys' clothes, haphazardly thrown around.

The door to the bathroom was open just a crack, and a flash of yellow was seen on said crack.

Shinsou chuckled again. _Heh, crack_.

The group marched to the hotel bathroom, knowing full well Denki is decent since the bathroom door wasn't locked. Mina was the first one to reach the doorknob and pull it open. "Denki, I--"

Shinsou, being the taller-than-the-average- ~~asshole~~ he was, peeked over and saw his friend bent over the hotel sink, a bar of soap in his hands with a _bite_  taken out of the soap.

Yes, a ~~fucking~~ bite.

The teeth marks near the bite were obvious on the plain white soap _and_  it wasn't just any brittle soap, it was full on _solid_  and _t_ _hick_. Shinsou looked back up slowly to the blond, who grinned, spitting out the soap he bit in his mouth and onto the sink.

"Uh, guys, wait, I'm just gonna wash--"

"What the ~~fUCK~~ , DENKI?!" Jirou marched right in, slapping the soap away. "WHAT--just...what _the ~~fuck~~_?"

Denki dodged the shorter girl's hits and punches as he gurgled some mouthwash and spat it back out, ultimately ignoring Jirou. He turned on the sink to wash his hands and face, sprinkling some water on the girl's face to keep her (and her punches, especially) in a distance. The bubbly water disappeared on the drain as the blond dried his hands on the towel. While he was patting his wet face dry, the group stood silent at the doorway with their jaws _on the floor_  and hands ready to call an ambulance. On Shinsou's case, ready to call an asylum.

Denki, upon seeing their shocked faces, returned his grin on his face. "I always take a bite off the soap when I go to hotels. Freaks the ~~shit~~ out of the housekeeping staff, ha!" Denki grinned, casually putting on a striped black and white shirt and his flipflops.

The four at the doorway glanced at the blond and back to the soap he just bit, and back to Denki. Reading their expressions, the grin fell of his face and became a small pout. "What? Are you guys just coming to pick me up just to tell me I'm too stupid to exist, huh?"

It was Sero who first turned away, heading to the door. Mina and Shinsou soon followed in a shocked daze while Jirou didn't leave until she gave a satisfying hit to the blond's side. The group made it downstairs in utter silence and also, questioning of their friend's sanity.

The clock finally striked 8 the exact moment they stepped back to the reserved area of the resort. The lights by the lampposts were turned off and instead, banners of lanterns were criss-crossed above the pool, their reflections looking like stars on the water surface. Two floating baby pools were filled with ice, soda and various drinks and are floating at the pool along with the floatees. One of the floatees was a huge red dragon, and another was a bomb-shaped one, flat and black.

Baskets were placed near the entrance, one for water balloons that are doodled on so they look like grenades, another for glow sticks and another for water guns.

At the grassy side of the area laid an impromptu "stage"ーan area with blankets and pillows with a black velvet chair on it. (Shoji borrowed the chair from inside the hotel. The hotel agreed for some reason.) Black and red fabric covered the tables flatly, which were set at either side of the stage; one table for the gifts and another for the food.

Speaking of the food, they were just as planned. Satou's gift to Katsuki himself was the birthday cake and the watermelon pops, so that was placed in the middle. The cake was striped black, red, green, orange and white, clearly taking inspiration from the birthday celebrant's hero costume. (Kudos to Satou for the effort). Among the food were also a plate of barbecue, gummy tapes (which was labeled Sour Weeds, for some reason), spicy noodles and chocolate bits. A pitcher of something pink was also there, beside the water dispenser and the root beer dispenser. There was also a red cape with cream-white fur laid over the black velvet chair. Everything was Bakugou-inspired, _for Bakugou_  but not by Bakugou.

"Woah," Denki gasped. "I was just gone for a few minutes and the place transformed!"

Tsuyu and Mineta, who were holding glasses of ice water, approached. "Quick, Ashido-san."

The area was soon filled by everyone. Yaoyorozu and her group entered and gasped at the decorations in wonder and amazement. Koda, Satou and Aoyama smiled and waved hello. Midnight, Present Mic, Cementoss, Eraserhead and Snipe also entered, immediately taking their place by the pool chairs to watch over the kids. Unfortunately, All Might is patrolling tonight, along with Vlad King.

_Wait_ , Mina paused, _i_ _f Vlad King is gone, that means his class should be..._

_Yep._  Mina turned and saw the familiar faces of Monoma, Kendou, Shiozaki and Tetsutetsu appear at the entrance, hesitant in even stepping inside. Mina caught the other section's nervous gazes and she nodded in a welcoming way, prompting the four to step in.

Also, the table was slowly getting filled with more and more gifts as many guests piled inside. Mina also saw dark cloaked people pile up just outside of the area, making her nervous and almost marched right there if it wasn't for the said people talking and _laughing_ with Tsuyu, Mineta, Shoji and Satou.

Seeing pretty much everyone was present, she took a deep breath and started her opening speech asーthe bastard who started all this plans a few weeks ago at 4:34amーthe host.

"Everyone?" Mina spoke onto the wireless microphone, connected to a bluetooth speaker. Everyone's head turned and gave her their attention. "Good evening to all!" 

And so shall the night start.

 

* * *

 

Midoriya went down with his U.A pe uniform jacket, since he wasn't sure whether or not he should come downstairs in his trunks or what. Seeing Todoroki and Uraraka wearing their own cover ups, (Todoroki even wore a white hoodie, the sass-) he decided to bring a jacket. A jacket won't harm anyone. Unless your skin gets caught in the zipper.

Once he and his friends entered the premises, which was at the far end of the resort that was signed with a huge "Reserved" at by entrance fence, he could definitely say that the place was absolutely amazing. No, _more than amazing_. Who know Mina and Hagakure's late night plan would actually come true? In a foreign land and a private resort too?

He looked more around. From the grenades to the cake, everything and anything reminded him of his dear friend.

"It was just like Kacchan _but more festive_ ," he mumbled in awe. Take for example, the lanterns made him miss Halloween, which he remembered as 4-year-old Kacchan's favorite day of the year. The pool floatees definitely was Jirou and Tokoyami's idea, as those three are into those type of things. When he saw the grenade water balloons, he cannot help but hold one and hide it behind his back. Just for future purposes.

"Everyone?"

He looked forward, seeing the ultimate mastermind of this entire celebration, Mina Ashido. She sports a red and black half-zipped jacket, which is absolutely well-thought for the theme. "Good evening to all! Uhh..."

The green-haired teen raised a brow. Mina scanned the growing audience before exploding into a small smile. Midoriya assumed she will announce a temporary wait since the celebrant himself wasn't present yet (and Midoriya believes that there is a 60% chance Kacchan _really_  won't show up at all anyway), but he was wrong. 

"Today, April 20th, is one of the days where our class happened to express unity for once for a single purpose. Today is the birthday of one of our friends," Mina said while Denki and Sero joined her at the back. "Today is the birthday of our one of only Kacchan!"

The crowd exploded into a round of applause. Or rather, a noisy sealion-like way of showing appreciation. Midoriya grinned. _That was my suggestion right there_ , he smugly thought, clapping along with the audience. He texted that suggestion a while ago. Mina did listen: she did call him _Kacchan_. Midoriya, out of all people, knew he likes being called by cute nicknames. Somehow, "Katsuki" is just boring for him. He wants "Kacchan".

The green-haired teen glanced at the side and saw the birthday celebrant enter the premises, hands in the pocket of his shorts. "The ~~fuck~~ is all of this ~~shit?"~~ he asks as he was buried by greetings and toasts, coming through the opening the crowd made for the grand entrance of the king. _It was obvious Kacchan was loving it_ , Midoriya rolled his eyes. He watched as the blond reached the so called stage, and was pushed down to sit at the black velvet chair by Denki and Sero. Seeing the teachers (specifically Aizawa, who Midoriya noticed was glaring quite hard at the teen), Kacchan didn't complain much aside from pushing Denki and Sero's hands away from him.

"We figured you don't want us to sing you a  happy birthday unless we want to be cremated, so everyone!" Mina turned to the audience, raising her root beer glass, " _Happy Birthday_ in one, two, three--"

Everyone followed Mina, raising their own glasses and giving a toast to the celebrant. He felt Uraraka squeeze his shoulder in happiness as he nodded, the crowd all said in unison, a loud and joyous "Happy Birthday!"

Mina passed the microphone to Kacchan, who rolled his eyes and crossed his legs. "Whatever, ugly heads. Do what you want. Enjoy."

He heard Uraraka gasp beside him. "No curse words in a sentence?" she comically, _dramatically_ exclaimed, "He must be ill! Doctor Todoroki, Doctor Iida, what should we do?"

He grinned as the two boys turned at her. Iida glanced at the pool and looked back at Uraraka and Midoriya. "The pool?"

"Aw, hell yes!"

The green-haired teen watched as Uraraka and Iida unzipped their jackets and dived straight on the pool. Denki, Sero and Mina all took off their jackets as well and jumped on the pool on a huge splash. In less than a second, other people followed, making splashes everywhere. The water had even reached his pant leg (which was on his knee level) until suddenly, an arm extended on his torso and pushed him back, away from the water. The hand belonged to none other than Todoroki, who is still shaken from the splash.

The half and half received the splash.

"S-shouchan, are you okay?"

"Finer than fine," the taller simply said and took the hoodie off, reaching at the hood behind his neck and pulling it over his head. He was actually shirtless underneath and Midoriya tried his hardest not to stare. What stopped him was the ever so watchful gaze of Aizawa-sensei, who he sensed wasn't particularly in a good mood at all.

Not everyone knew he was bi, though the only people who knew _who_  he was bi for was Uraraka, Aizawa and Shinsou. He only admitted to one of the three, and it was Uraraka. Who knew what would Aizawa and Shinsou do to that information?

"Good ~~fucking~~ evening, brocolli."

"Wha--"

Speaking of the devil.

Just as when Midoriya hung their jackets at the hooks by the side of the fence, a hand grasped his arm and pulled him running to the pool. In a quick glance, he saw that Shouchan was being pulled as well, but by a blonde. He doesn't know who, _just a blonde_. In a quick moment, he turned back to mini-Aizawa who had a tight grip on his hand, motioning a throwing motion _but with his freaking body_ \--

"Shinsou-ku--!!"

The last thing he saw before he was _thrown_ at the pool was the smirk of his indigo-haired _friend_. He didn't see a flash of red and white hair at the water thoughーhe saw a blonde insteadーbut his focus was on the smug brainwashing-quirk user.

So he wanted to play that way, huh?

 

* * *

 

"The ~~fuck~~ am I supposed to do, ugly head? Teleport?" he called out to Mina, who just reappeared on the surface after catapulting to the pool. In a split second, Denki, Sero and Mina stripped away their jackets and immediately dived. He almost got ~~fucking~~  wet, the ~~bastards.~~

Racoon Eyes reappeared with wet hair and a wide grin on her chubby face, showing him a thumbs up. "Open the gifts! Climb in the pool! Like you said, "whatever you want". This is your birthday, bro!"

He rolled his eyes.

_Whatever you want, this is your birthday!_ Tch, that's what she said... 

But he wasn't ~~fucking~~  allowed to go sleep, was he?

He sighed, turning his head to the food table. He stood, reaching for his own serving, but to his surprise, he was suddenly presented with a full plate.

"Eh?" His eyes trailed from the plate offered to him, up to the slightly muscular arms and finally, to the face.

"Happy Birthday, Bakugou."

"Todoroki?"

The stoic-faced teen handed him a plate, with a slice of cake, a serving of spicy noodles and barbecue. "Shiketsu's gift was the barbecue, the pitcher of apple juice and a personal letter," Todoroki said, handing the blond a shiny black envelope, with "Happy Seventeenth Birthday" written in red calligraphy pen and a red "S.H" seal at the envelope. "It's a letter from someone named Seiji Shishikura."

At first, the blond was dumbfounded. _Him_. Dumbfounded. Did Todoroki just casually approach him?

Todoroki was about to leave when he asked, "Who?"

"Seij--"

In a split second, Icyhot's arm was yanked back and went face to face with his fist. "I want to know the ~~goddamn~~  identity, not the ~~fucking~~  name, ~~dumbass~~!"

Todoroki pushed the hand away, still blank-faced, yet the slight furrow in his eyebrows indicate he was annoyed. "Meatball quirk user, second-year student," he said, sighing.

Oh, _that_  bastard, now he remembers. He had the sudden urge to throw the envelope to the pool or make it explode, but remembering Aizawa's words, he grumpily placed it on his pockets.

=earlier=

He was silently roaming by the lounge, texting his mom that _yes_ , he won't drown (again) or lose his hearing aids (again) or get kidnapped (again). He found it worth questioning why his mom didn't force him to promise he won't _die_ , but whatever.

>  MamaMitsuki: Katsuki...
> 
> Katsuki: Mom, I'll be fucking fine. Chill tf out.

 After sending the text, he then went to his Twitter, but before he could log out so that the ~~goddamn~~  notifications get cut off, he felt a dark presence enter the room. And no, it's neither Tokoyami or Mineta. Or Shinsou, for that matter.

It was his homeroom teacher.

"Bakugou."

"What?" he asked as Aizawa went closer, leaning at the wall and glaring at him between his messy hair. He didn't meet this teacher's eyes, focusing on closing all apps on his phone and turning it off.

"You are aware that your classmates are throwing you a party tonight, right?" Aizawa started off. "They put major thought into it, and as far as I can tell, Iida confirms that it was actually serious."

"What's your point?" Bakugou asked half-heartedly, rolling his eyes and pocketing his phone, pressing the elevator button. _It was three o'clock,_  his subconscious thought, _perhaps he could stop downstairs for ~~fucking~~ soda or something._

"I want you to attend your own birthday party, appreciate their hard work and effort and please, Bakugou, _don't be a rude chicken_  while at it."

He paused. Aizawa continued.

"Please refrain from cursing your classmates _or anyone_ , starting the fight or using your quirk dangerously. On second thought, avoid using it at all. Else I would be forced to give you quirk-suppressing bracelets like I made Kaminari wear near the water. Please keep it under control, just for tonight."

The elevator doors opened, revealing a whistling janitress. He stepped inside and pressed the first floor button, and as the elevator closed, he met his adviser's glare. Registering the words said to him, he narrowed his eyes at him dangerously.

"I am in no way a rude chicken and I will never ~~fucking~~ be, challenge accepted Sensei!" He delivered a kick that only hit the closed elevator doors. His phone vibrated on his hand, revealing a follow up text from said teacher.

>  Aizawa Shota sent a message
> 
> Aizawa Shota: And please say "thank you" to them.

 He delivered another kick to the elevator doors. The janitress stopped whistling until he stepped out of the lift. He felt a little bad. Just a little. On second thought, no. Whatever.

 

* * *

 

Todoroki was about to leave when he held his shoulder back. "I'm not done!"

The walking Canadian flag turned, unimpressed. He seemed eager to swim. "What do you want?"

Without thinking, he blurted it out quickly. "Thanks."

Then he pushed Todoroki onto the pool.

He met Aizawa's gaze from the other end of the area, who is looking at him with less of a glare. He then mouthed to the pro hero, "You happy?" before turning on his heel and coming face to face with the gift table.

"Perhaps this could be fun..." he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he took a bite of the cake. He never liked sweets, but he could tolerate this perfect balance of sweetness and the taste of bread. If only he could say thanks to Satou anonymously.

Though, something felt...off.... 

_This is my birthday_ , he thought. He doesn't deserve to worry at any day of his life unless it was someone close who is in question. Grabbing the first gift box, he went back to sit at his velvet chair and decided to take a look at his mountains of gifts.

 

* * *

 

Shinsou had been enjoying the night. The moment he basically threw Midoriya onto the pool, he ran to the other side and settled there instead. He knew the brocolli would come for him and get revenge.

His other friend who was supposed to pull Todoroki down the pool? That's who he doesn't know where. The ~~bastard~~ had the nerve to let Todoroki escape--

"Shall the heavens up above help you, Hitoshi," a voice said right behind him, gasping.

Just from the voice, he recognized who it was. She must be talking about when he threw Midoriya onto the deep part of the pool.

"My idea of help from above is a sniper on the roof, Shiozaki," he answered, earning an offended gasp from the female. He rolled his eyes and returned the stare. Ibara clasps her hands together and shook her head.

"Bless your soul with nothing but holiness, you are a tainted soul," she mused, her offended expression dropping and becoming a small smile. "Nice to see you too, Hitoshi. But please, do not beg fate for death all the time." She crouched down, sitting near him at the stairs of the pool, feeling the water. She offered him one of the two water cups that she held, which he received with a nod as a thanks.

"We will never get along, then," he said smiling as he sips. Ibara fell quiet in understanding.

The two of them became friends pretty much the same way he and Denki did: as polar opposites. He and Shiozaki met through Monoma, and their friendship was one of the most comfortable and stable ones he had. Despite this, he felt particularly drawn to his bestfriends still. He is loyal, mind you.

The water cooled his burning throat. The moment he placed the red plastic cup at the side of the pool, a cold _something_ wrapped around his anklesーwait, it's a hand!ーand pulled him down, sending him flailing in panic at the sudden attack.

"H--!!!"

He opened his eyes underwater. As much as he could see in the barely-there lighting, he saw a flash of black and green which slowly disappeared along with the hand that pulled him down, being replaced by a flash of yellow and warmth. Hands grasped his shoulders and the next thing he knew, he was pulled back up the the surface.

"What happened to you? You suddenly sank! What is it?"

He hacked up water, pushing the hair that stuck to his wet forehead backwards towards his scalp. Looking around, the _stupid ~~ass~~ brocolli _wasn't visible anymore, and so he directed his gaze landing back on Kaminari. The blond himself was curious and shocked, his wet shoulders and hair glistening in the lanterns' lights. Shinsou blurted out the first excuse that rang into his mind, because admitting that brocolli scored him one is admitting utter defeat. The excuse he thought was hard to explain, though.

"I think I just felt an emotion."

"You have got to be kidding me." Kaminari looked at him disapprovingly before splashing water to his face and swimming away. Shinsou chuckled at the concern the blond showed. His face softened.

_Thanks, Kaminari_.

Then suddenly, a deep voice resounded right behind him.

"You poor thing. I'd help you," the unfamiliar voice said, "but you're friends with Pikachu."

_I was just done with three of my demons and here comes the final boss_ , he thought in amusement.

"Don't you ~~fucking~~ put my financial status and my favorite Pokemon into this," he replied without missing a beat, already knowing who it was. If he had to scale his friends from the most stable to the most unstable, Shizaki would be first and this bastard behind him was the last.

"I recognize a little ~~asshole~~."

His smirk grew. "I recognize a personification of _an ~~ass~~_  that hardly passed Chemistry AND Economics." Silence met him from behind, as well as faint sounds of shuffling a small chuckle.

" ~~Fuck~~ you, Hitoshi, how did you know it's me?"

"I don't need eyes nor hands to feel your ~~bullshit~~ radiating," he said smiling; turning his body around to face his friend.

The final demon, the bastard he called his other bestfriend (kinda)...ーIt was none other than Monoma Neito, the ~~bastard~~ of Class 1-B.

Hitoshi Shinsou had two blonde friends (?), namely Monoma Neito and Kaminari Denki. Those two friends mentioned are symbols of what was in Hitoshi's mind as the "Two Types of Blondes", which was 1) ~~Asshole~~ and 2) Stupid. Bakugou Katsuki, which wasn't his friend and instead some sort of a nemesis, goes onto the " ~~asshole~~ " category. The only one he could not clearly categorize was Todoroki Shouto, who is brocolli's some sort of boyfriend or something. The uslurper is half blonde, so he counts. Either he's an ~~asshole~~ or plain stupid, and that icyhot dude is _so sarcastic_ Shinsou cannot decipher whether he was being an ~~asshole~~ _or_ being stupid. 

Monoma's hair was dripping on the poolsideーShinsou noticed as he stepped into the pool beside him.

So _that's_  what happened to him! Todoroki must have reacted quickly and threw Monoma onto the pool instead of being the one that is thrown. _His pranking game is too weak,_  Shinsou thought, clicking his tongue. ~~Damn~~ , he really hated the guy.

Kendou, Monoma's self-proclaimed parole officer, followed right behind the blond and sat beside Ibara instead. Tetsutetsu, who was the fifth Class 1-B student who arrived, was having a friendly discussion with Sero Hanta, Ashido Mina and  _yes, you called it,_ Kaminari Denki.

"Let's drown them," he whispered under his breath, which was enough for only himself and the blond to hear. The latter wore his Artificial Vocal Chords (where did he get that and why is it under his care?!) over the lower half of his face and pulled it down. That explains the deep voice that clearly wasn't Monoma's.

"Sorry, but I don't wanna give Yosetsu, Kaibara and Itsuka another reason to send me to the asylum," Monoma said, undoing the buckles and secures in his AVC, "again."

"I'm sorry. I forgot you're an idiot _and_  a kill joy."

It seemed he only had friends just to have people to tease without having the threat of being killed right after. He absolutely enjoyed teasing brocolli, stupid, ~~asshole~~ and many others, and he doesn't know what it reveals about his inner desires. Maybe he's a sadist in his past life? His current life? Or maybe he's just a bully?

To Denki and Izuku, maybe, but to Monoma, probably not. They're both ~~assholes~~ to each other so it's cool.

He and Monoma had been friends for a while, knowing each other through Instagram where Monoma followed him and he followed right back. Monoma was the first one to make a move, telling him in the DM's that he had something important to send to him in the PM's and went straight to giving his number.

When Shinsou accepted the number and asked

> Shinsou: It's Shinsou. Is this the right number?

 and receiving the "important" something Monoma was talking about? _It was a ~~fucking~~ picture of a rubber chicken edited on a rainbow background_. It seemed the blond just wanted his phone number, since when he replied:

>  Shinsou: What the ~~fuck~~???

 ーthe blond rejoiced by saying:

> Unknown: I got you twice! I'd have Yosetsu and Rin pay me 20 bucks!
> 
> Unknown: It's a bet lol.
> 
> Unknown: oh and yeah its me monoma

So you could say their DM's _and_ PM's were filled with memes and insults. Everyday was filled with at least 47 ~~fuck~~ you's and 3 I hate you's. That's just how they worked, I guess.

~~"Fuck~~ off, brainwashing machine," Monoma rolled his eyes, kicking his leg underwater.

The pool floatee with the iced drinks then floated by, and they grabbed their own sodas. Shinsou had too many sodas today, but he had been sleep deprived for half of his life and is barely living as a human being, _what else does he have to lose, right?_

"Maybe a ~~goddamn~~ ice cold soda can help you soothe your burns, _monomane,"_   Shinsou said, throwing an innocent ice cube towards the blond that made him scream and jump up at the sudden coldness.

"Ahhh!" He jumped, realizing the object and kicked him away. "I ~~fucking~~ hate you, Shinsou! ~~Fuck!~~ Cold, too cold!"

Seeing the purple-haired teen purposefully ignored him, he rolled his eyes and leaned back, opening his soda can and taking a sip.

Shinsou drank his own soda. The taste was already in his mouth since this morning and did nothing to tingle his tastebuds anymore, but there was something being cold being on the outside AND on the inside as well. The sound of the can opening soothed his tensed senses for a while, though, to the point he wanted all the sodas on the baby pool just so he could pop all the can tabs.

"Y'know, living with Class 1-A ~~fucking~~ blows sometimes. Someone eats my chocolate bars and now I have to smuggle my food in my own dorm," Shinsou started, offering his soda can that Monoma awknowledged and cheered with a clink. _They're okay again_ ,  that's what it means.

And just like always, the mood goes from 100-0. Again.

"Ha! Told you! You should transfer to Class 1-B because Class 1-A is a bunch of ~~bitches."~~

"Is it still true that Class 1-A is super  _a_ _mazing?"_ Shinsou turned to him, enjoying the sudden crazy maniacal expression on the blond's face.

"Super not," he said, shaking his head strongly. He downed the soda and suspired, finally getting his AVC off and placing at safely at the side. Well, he should be! If ever Monoma had it broken, it would be _him_  who will be the payment to Hatsume and Power Loader-sensei. Monoma snapped his fingers which regained his attention.

He was staring at the waters with the soda can still right by his lips. His arms were extended by the pool side and behind Shinsou, and he could clearly see the muscles on the blond's arm and torso that was never there before. The training and his increased physical attribures were compensating to the fact Monoma wasn't and cannot be independent at allーhe needs someone with him to have an actual quirk. _That_ was the result of their joint trainings, and compared who they were when they first met, they were _gods_  to their "potato" past selves. The blond turned his face and closed his grayish blue eyes in relaxation and peace.

"It's nice to see someone who can appreciate my humor."

"Humor?" A sudden voice cut off onto the serene atmosphere the blond's remark made.   "Monoma, that's bullying. Shinsou, is he bullying you again?" Kendou, who was now standing at the pool side with Ibara with towels on their shoulders, raised a hand as if to karate chop Monoma's neck as usual, though this time, he managed to dodge it for once. He stepped away and onto the deeper (but farther) parts of the pool and Kendou had no choice but to glare threateningly and walk away. It seemed the girls will call an early night.

Shinsou, who had watched the scene unravel, just kept getting more and more amused by Monoma and Kaminari. The two, he observed, were just the same despite being on two opposite types of blondes. Both of them were internally afraid of a female that acted as theie parole officer and both were just as dorky as the other. He looked at Monoma and his sudden expression of panic at Kendou's intervention, which contrasted the peaceful expression he had _literally five seconds ago_.

"I swear I'm normal." Monoma raised both of his hands as if he was surrendering, slowly and cautiously walking back to the poolside and taking another sip of his soda. The purple-haired teen grabbed his own soda and went back to normal.

"Do I get bonus points if I act like I care?"

"And you wonder why you're still single," Monoma said, raising both his hands up in the air as if begging for the heavens to send him some sanity.

As if on cue, a haunting yet majestic melody sounded eerily near.

_We "villains" always get the short end of the stick, thrown off of cliffs, impaled by ships_

_Everyone has it all wrong_

"Wait uh," he said, tapping his pockets (which were under the water surface, and caught Shinsou dumbfounded) and then looking at the AVC at the side. The expression on his face, though, was a new type of panic. "Where the violent ~~shit~~ is that ~~fuck?"~~ he panicked, tapping everywhere. It attracted not only Shinsou's attention but also several others.

_I'm a true artiste_

_Not a cruel beast_

_I get hot for haute couture, yes_

"Monoma?" Shinsou asked in amusement. "Haute couture? Really?"

"Shut the ~~fuck~~ up! Where's my phone?"

_I'm a slave to fashion_

_My favorite passion_

_My motives are good and pure_

Realizing the familiar references, Shinsou gasped. "Wait...you listen to Disney?" Shinsou asked, snorting. "Monoma! Disney? Oh my god--!" He grinned, hiding his deep chuckle with an arm. He recognized the song referring to Cruella de Vil, and imagining Monoma singing and even _reenacting_  The 101 Dalmatians when he's alone is just _GOLD_.

_They are so ungrateful_

_Misplacing all their hate_

_Maybe I'm a hero too--_

~~"Fucking~~ there you are!" He fished out the phone on his jacket pocket. He slid the green button across the screen, stopping the song Shinsou was growing to get intrigued about, and faced the fence, placing the phone by his ear. "Hello? Gramma? You there?"

Shinsou turned in curiousity, a sick smile still on his cheeks. After a few minutes, the blond went back to the pool and inserted his phone on a clear plastic bag he got from somewhere.

"Is that your grandmother?" Shinsou asked, remembering his own cat-lover grandparents back in town. The blond nodded, scrolling on his phone while he played with the water with his other hand.

"Yeah. It's me, her, my wine-loving aunt and engineer uncle at home. My aunt and uncle are the worst twins ever, so ~~damn~~ opposite and they ~~fucking~~ bicker everyday," he clicked his tongue, "Imagine the everyday chaos."

Shinsou simply nodded. The longer he thought about it, the more Monoma Neito made sense. He wasn't really the best of best students _but_  he comes to school _everyday_  and never missed class _ever._ He is also entering the classroom with ironed clothes, polished shoes, newly washed handkerchief, and _neat as ~~fuck~~_  hair. Plus, when the dorms weren't yet built, he comes to school with a small bento at Tuesdays and Thursdays. Not that Shinsou really noticed on the spot, but when he did notice the pattern, he made fun of the blond and that's just the same old bickering they always do.

"Hey, can I get your contact? I bought a new phone," Monoma suddenly said, turning towards him and grinning darkly. "I won't hack it, promise!" 

"Sure, and I'll hack your soul to hell," Shinsou said, though he proceeded to dictate his contact information instead. He decided to sort his new observations of the blond's family to the back of his head, when the necessity for those infomation came.

"Whether or not you hack it, my soul's still going to hell." He ignored Monona's reply and got his own phone from the side table nearby. He also got Monoma's new number saved and had him hold his phone for corrections.

It was proven to be an idiotic move for Shinsou, since Monoma proceeded to scroll down his contacts and laughing. "Who is this _Smoke Bomb_? _Acido Mina_? _Tape Man_? _E_ _lectrizeroknowledge?"_

Shinsou grabbed his phone before he saw the lovey dovey and normal Call ID's he reserved for his family. He ignored the blond's insistence on knowing who those were and why the ever loving ~~fuck~~ he set their Call ID's like that and instead went back on setting Monoma's Call ID.

>   _Name: (insert name here)_
> 
> _Mobile No.: 12********_
> 
> _Address: ~~Fucking,~~ Austria_
> 
> _E-mail Address: monomakuma**@yuuei. com_

"What can I call you?" he asked absent-mindedly, referring to the Call ID.

"Your majesty."

~~"Fuck~~ you, Monoma." He did not see that coming! He set the Call ID to モノマネ, which was _Monomane_. And yes, he _just_  realized that and now he wanted to meet his parents just to give kudos for them naming their son after a ~~fucking~~ pun. He heard Monoma mention that his name was changed when he was four or five, so that further proves the parents and Shinsou's growing appreciation for them. If only...

He set his phone back on the side-table, guarded by Aizawa (who is still glaring at something across the pool, who knows) and went back to the pool. Music just started to play by the huge speakers just brought in (actually, _o_ _ut),_ and one of Earphone Jack's songs played. It started out with slow beats until the drop came. It hit everyone like lighting-

The intense drop made many cheer out and raise pool floatees like the crowd at the concert raising posters, and Shinsou closed his eyes in enjoyment.

"Is that the new remix released?"

"Yep. Just last December 18th, why?" Monoma answered, surprisingly not joining the rave that the pool party had became. The girls and boys alike from both sections and departments jumped and dived simultaneously, cheering for the party's personal DJ, Earphone Jack.

"I sit in class for attendance and I go home then teach myself," Shinsou said, "While you study in both and still have time to be updated about things. I only have time for cats and sleep."

"I don't understand how you like cats."

"I know you hate me but please don't get my cats involved."

"Good, you understand our relationship." Monoma grinned at him, standing and diving down to the deeper parts of the pool, disappearing almost unnoticed by everyone but him. A few seconds later, someone was reported to have almost drowned and Monoma reappeared from his "food break".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste of Blueberries On Fruit Cans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓  
> Chapter 3: Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid ✓  
> Chapter 4: Eri's Apple Cores and Todoroki Misses The Smores ✓  
> Chapter 5: To The Only Friend I Need ✓  
> Chapter 6: Being Alone On Your Birthday 101 By Bakugou Katsuki ✓
> 
> "This is going to sound controversial, but I think that went well," Iida announced, checking another chapter done on his notepad. "Goodbye for now, and wish the author luck in their exams!"
> 
> //Guys I swear after the exams I'm going tO FINISH THIS WHY IS THIS MONTH'S EXAMS A TOTAL OF FOUR DAYS LONG--//  
> //"Technically, this is slavery because we're not getting paid!" - Brandon Rogers, about school and school life//  
> //Shinsou wore AVC (Artificial Vocal Chords) on the Joint Training Arc//  
> //Monomane means Copy. Yes, Monoma freaking Neito's name is a pun. Most BNHA character names were puns. Wink wink, you already know that by now anyway.//  
> //Monoma's ringtone is the Disney Villains - The Musical ft. Maleficent by AVbyte, found on youtube//  
> //The song that played on the rave was "Jetta - I'd Love To Change The World (Matstubs Remix)" uploaded by Trap Nation on yt//


	7. Extremely Thoughtful Efforts For The Extremely Unthoughtful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I hate my birthday because nobody tries to make it special for me. It's either me doing it or I get nothing." That was his mindset. Now that he got (more than) something for his birthday, he wasn't sure how to feel anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //Bitcoin's a form of cryptocurrency aka digital money. I also don't own Crocs. Lol.////Midoriya finally found the chance to tease Katsuki without Katsuki proceeding to set his hair on fire. That wasn't what he meant by blades but...that's actually smart.//

The box was small yet heavy, Katsuki observed. He sat on his chair and opened it.

"The ~~fuck~~ is this?" he whispered to himself, staring at itーa circular object with a rim of shiny gold that sparkled under the yellowish lantern light, with a mark-free glass top and a heavy weight that feels good on his hand. He pulled the object out of the box using the chain attached to it and that's when he realized what it wasーa compass. The arrow and the mechanism weren't really visible at first due to the reflection of the glass. He almost thought someone got him a ~~fucking~~ monocle, or a ~~goddamn~~ pocket watch.

"Now who did this come from?" he wondered. The box lid laid on the table, which he just noticed had a white paper stuck in it. Reading it, it had the sender's name in her handwriting.

>   _From: Hatsume Mei_
> 
>  
> 
> _I heard you like trekking. I made you this compass, my 456th baby! Information sheet at the box : )_

He raised a brow at this and placed the compass back onto the box, rolling his eyes. He recently had lost his compass on his hike last month and he never really had the time to find another one. How Hatsume knew _what_  and _how she knew_ are complete mysteries, but whatever. "Thanks, I ~~fucking~~ guess."

He took another huge mouthful of noodles before setting the plate down once more. The next thing that had caught his eye was a bunch of paper bags in the same type, but only in different colors. Curious, he pulled the total of four bags and started from the largest to the smallest. In order, he got: a jacket, some rope, some shiny cyclindrical-shaped _something_  and a tin box of _something._

He pulled the jacket out first, and it was red with a smooth feel to the fabric. The tag said it was from Principal Nezu, which made him pause only to read it again.

Definitely Principal Nezu.

The jacket was of a known brand and again, he paused to ~~fucking~~ take a second look at the tag. If the principal could invest in a waterproof jacket for him, then what could he get from that? That the principal is thoughtful or was he just _that_  valuable as a U.A student?

He sure was assuming the latter. The ~~fucking~~ school better appreciate his presence! He moved on to the next, placing the jacket back neatly onto the paper bag hence it came from and pulled out the rope from the next one. It was thick in diameter and was black. At first glance, it got him confusedーwho the ~~fuck~~ gives a ~~goddamn~~ rope as a gift?ーthen when he saw the remaining things inside the paper bag, that's when he got it. It was climbing rope; the harnesses at the bag gave it away.

And yes, he had a concrete guess at who gave it to him. He grabbed the paper bag and checkedーand of course he was correct, it came from Midnight.

The pattern is making him think that these cluster of similarly printed paper bags all came from members of the faculty, and _yes he was right_. In the next bag were food flasks (the shiny cylinders earlier) from Present Mic and in the last paper bag was the tin box filled with mountain markers from none other than Aizawa-sensei.

He decided to finish his food before continuing. He sat back, eating and taking in the sight of his party. So far, everyone was having fun at the pool. The girls were giggling and playing volleyball while Mineta and Tsuyu were conversing with the faculty members who were simply chilling at one corner of the poolside. Shoji, Tokoyami and Koda seemed to have a great conversation by the pool chairs and if he saw right, Shinsou was smiling like a ~~fucking~~ idiot at the side of the pool with _that_   ~~fucking~~ guyーthe one who stole his headbands at the Cavalry Battle, whatever his name was. Mono something. _Whatever._

Satou, Kendou and the vine girl from 1-B were eating happily by the side and last but definitely the ~~fucking~~ least, his dumb friends were clustered at the corner nearest to his stage. As always, Dunce Face is the center of attention and was telling a story vividly about some rollercoaster ~~shit,~~ making Racoon Eyes, Soy Sauce Face and the tough steel dude (from 1-B too) laugh and almost drown in their happiness. Literally.

He took the last bite of the cake and placed the plate at the stack of used ones at the side, getting himself a glass of water and downing it.

"How's the gifts so far?"

He turned with a scowl, not recognizing the voice. Turns out it was just Sound Girl, who was holding a bright bumblebee-themed phone and a speaker cable wire.

Katsuki has this one secret only one other individual in the world knows: he pretends to forget people's names just to have an excuse to call them names. _It was just so ~~fucking~~ intimate when I call them out loud by name and without bite._ One of the victims of his feigned ignorance was Jirou Kyoka, who he managed to convince that he really cannot remember her name and instead calls her Sound Girl or sometimes Bass ~~Bitch.~~ Despite this, they shared the weekly Late Night Horror/Action movie marathon every Friday with Tokoyami, Kaminari and sometimes even Sero and Ashido.

"People actually ~~fucking~~ asked ~~Shitty~~ Deku for suggestions, didn't they?" he said, gesturing to the green-haired teen who was having some sort of swimming competition with Four-Eyes, Icyhot and Round Face. Jirou looked and smiled.

"Well, who wouldn't?" She shrugged. "Everyone's scared of offending you and get the risk of experiencing a death threat or a  murder attempt," she joked, narrowly noticing the small sparks popping in his hand.

He literally felt shivers down his spine. Aizawa must be watching him again. He frustratedly stopped his sparks and scowled.

"Whatever. I don't even need gifts," he mumbled, going back and reaching the nearest gift he could touch. It was a medium-sized box with a huge  _You're Seventeen, You're Old_  written at the front of the red wrapping in bold black ink.

Jirou clicked her tongue and he saw her smile. "Yeah, whatever. You may miss my gift but it's there somewhere. Also, Sero said his gift was new "skin", whatever that meant," she said, "I'll play music here, is that cool?"

Katsuki nodded half-heartedly, making a gesture to shoo her away. She chuckled and walked away. Not too long after, beats started playing and everyone cheered.

_Tape Arms bought him new skin?_ She must be referring to the game Sero suggested him. He complained really hard about the poor character customization options until Sero said he could buy some skin with real money at the store. He said he would never waste money on "skin" and he would definitely be the city's no. 1 player without a damn skin, at least that's what he swore before. It seems not anymore, huh?

He returned his attention to the box. He stared at it for a while before he shredded the wrapping into pieces, actively tearing the ~~damned~~ greeting at the front. Inside the cardboard box was a gothic bracelet, black and leather, along with a glass cube container with half-circle objects inside. Confused, he grabbed the card that was also in the box and read it.

>   _Got you some bitcoins from the dark web_
> 
> _-Shinsou_

He raised his eyes and grabbed the glass cube again. He shook it around and the coins moved, until it clicked. Confirming his realization, behind the cube was a label saying "Bit of coins".

" ~~Fucking bitch~~ ," he muttered before he set it away. The ~~bastard~~ had some nerve make a ~~fucking~~ pun on his birthday with his birthday gift! ~~Bitch.~~ He crossed his legs and grabbed the huge rectangular box at the side. At was twice as big as the largest paper bag on the table, and was quite heavy as well. It almost made him think someone got him an Apple computer or something until he noticed the tag and raised a suspicious brow.

>   _Happy Birthday Kacchan! Hope you like it!_
> 
>  
> 
> _-you already know who this is_

Oh sure he does. It was ~~Shitty~~ Deku, he could tell from the nerdy handwriting to the nerdy message (the nickname wasn't it, he swear--). The box was brown, and instead of a wrap it was just ribboned shut by a black ribbon tied onto a huge fluffy black bow in the middle. He decided he should look at it later at his bedroom, so he only took a peek. Who knew what new ~~shit Shitty~~ Deku got him?

He _saw...wheels?_

Small wheels.

And also bubblewrap.

Even more curious, the blond opened the box more, sliding the bubblewrap away from view and widening his eyes in _shock._

"Inline skates...?" From _Deku_?

He looked up to spot the green-haired teen at the pool, dancing around to Jirou's music with the ~~fucking~~ Dekusquad. Deku caught his gaze for a second and smiled. Katsuki paused to give a questioning glance toward him before Deku grinned his widest and opened his arms wide to his direction, pointing at his cheeks too. He started to mouth some words to him which took Katsuki a full five seconds before finally comprehending.

_"Aw, you're always welcome, Kacchan! Come, kiss!"_ Mido ~~fucking~~ riya teased, making him stand up in anger and give the greenhead the most violent and angry middle finger he could ever give. That better does not ~~fucking~~ count as cursing to Aizawa, or maybe he'll give his middle finger to him too, the ~~_bastards._~~

He pushed the box away angrily and settled back on his chair. He was far too lazy to reach for the water guns. Now that he thought about it, him shooting the others with a watergun at this scenario feels oddly like being Satan poking the sufferers of hell with his pitchfork. That sounds...oddly ideal at this point.

It would be even better if the gun was filled with gasoline instead and then he sets the pool on fire. Now that's literally hell.

He grabbed another box, a medium-sized one, colored black with a reddish-pink ribbon. "Let me guess, it's from Round Fa--"

He heard someone shuffle beside him, immediately sending him the familiar feelings of frustration just from someone entering his personal bubble unwantedly. Just as he turned, he was presented with a palm-sized box shoved right on his face. "Watch it, ~~fucker!"~~

He pushed it away from his face, revealing the pair that approached him. Round Face stood with dripping hair, her towel draped over her shoulders and held the box on her hands. Beside her, Icyhot looked at him blankly, slurping some noodles and only nodded his greeting.

"Happy Birthday!" Round Face smiled, presenting him with her gift. "I promise I won't hate you today and tomorrow. That's an additional gift."

"Eh?!" he exclaimed, looking down at the black-pink gift box he held, "Then from who the f--"

"That's my gift."

"And that's the ~~fuck~~ I don't give, Half and Half. I ain't asking you." He rolled his eyes, grasping the box all the while snarling at Todoroki.

"You literally just asked-"

"Shhh!" Uraraka slapped a hand on her friend's face and covered him from Katsuki's line of sight by coming close and smiling. "Open your gifts!" She grabbed Todoroki's free hand and whispered something on his ear that made him nod and walk away.

He looked back down to the box he held. A part of it was wet due to Uraraka's wet hands, but he didn't really care. He opened the lid and saw another round object inside.

"What is this?" he growled. "A ~~fucking~~ dreamcatcher?"

"Mhm!" The female practically bounced right where she stood. "You sleep like you're _aphyxiating_ someone in your dreams, _Bakugou_..." Her smile metamorphed to a dark grin.

He stared at her, unimpressed. "You're not my favorite person of the day."

"I'm not your favorite person any day," she replied shrugging, her dark grin subsiding. She looked at the other box he held and nodded at him. "What did Todoroki-kun get you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Get away! You don't give a ~~damn.~~ _I_  don't give a ~~damn!"~~ He threatened the female, standing up and stepping forward as if he'll attack her.

She knew he won't, but she stepped backwards anyway, proving that it worked anyway. The brunette gave up, furrowing her eyebrows and walking away, back her group of dumbasses she calls her friends. "You gave so many ~~damns~~ that they're VISIBLE from SPACE!" she replied in a distance, unimpressed. "At least say thank you, idiot!"

He glanced back at the box and saw a red crystal necklace behind the dreamcatcher. He recognized it from the store he always bought his skull shirts from, and he swallowed down his remaining words.

"Tch," he said, coming back to his gifts and continued unwrapping and peeking with no further interruption. It feels like he finally had an ad-blocker if his classmates were the ads.

In a few minutes, he unwrapped three video games from Shoji, some tall bottle of musky perfume from Yaoyorozu, some shirts and jean chains from Tokoyami, a ~~fucking~~ All Might _plushie_ (the limited edition one, mind you) from Ashido, some bomb-shaped black "bathbombs" from Aoyama and an SD card from Jirou.

The last two made him the most intrigued. First of all, _why would be need "bathbombs"?_ What even are "bathbombs"? Why would he make his bath _explode?_ Even if he did, he had his ~~damn~~ quirk, had he not?

Second, on Jirou's SD card, the paper with it only said:

>   _Warning: Angst, Emo Shit and Blood. Lots of blood._

_What in the world_ does it even contain? Did Jirou and Shinsou accidentally visit the Deep Web before and is trying to get him ~~fucking~~ involved? What the ~~fuck~~ even--!

"Hey, Katsuki," Mina said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. "How's the birthday boy?"

"Cranky with a touch of psycho _with_  a mood to punch something really ~~fucking~~ hard, what do you want?" he growled, turning his head to the female. She held that microphone once again, not before drying herself mostly, and smiled.

"It's time for speeches, Katsuki-kun!" she said, "We didn't sing you _the song_ so you'd make a speech instead! Then after you speak, we get to say our speeches too! Payback~"

"What?" he asked. "The ~~fuck~~ would I ~~fucking~~ say?" She shoved the microphone to his chest, turning it on and tapping it. The speakers lit up automatically and connected.

She paused, looking at him in a shocked expression. "What do you mean? Of course you say, like, _thank you for attending_  or something! You know, birthday celebrant speeches!"

He didn't reply and only stared at her.

"Haven't you made a birthday speech yet? Didn't you get any parties bef-"

"Of course I ~~fucking~~ had, so get out of my way and announce the commencement of my ~~fucking~~ speech, _~~damn."~~_ He stood, the cape suiting his shoulders like the king he was.

Her expression clearly brightened, smiling so wide it reached the farthest her grin could go. "Kyaaaa~!" she squeeled, "You're already welcome before you thank us, Bakugou! Don't worry, after this you could dive down with us. Actually you're already allowed to do that since the begi-"

"Mina ~~fucking~~ Ashido," he growled under his breath. Aizawa be ~~damned,~~ he's fumingーhe's now a ticking time bomb. 

"Oh yeah right, my bad," she chuckled, lifting a glass from the food table and clinking it with a spoon. Actually it's a fork she used, but whatever could do. This isn't some corporate business party of something. This is his birthday. His birthday that everyone planned just for him.

The sudden ineffable _feeling_  in his chest blocked out the words as Mina announced some party host shit he didn't comprehend.

_All the memories of him cursing and picking a fight with people..._

_And now standing in front of_ those people _in a party_  they _organized for him..._

_He....may have been feeling guilty._

Jirou lowered the music volume. Everyone, some on the pool, others on the deck and others right beside him, turned to him. On his right were Sero and Kaminari and on his right was Ashidoーthe masterminds of this whole thing....

He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath and lifting the microphone to speak. From the deepest depths of his (actually existent) heart; from the _guilt_ in his soul...

"This celebration is a reminder that nobody I'm surrounded with is interesting." 

"I'm a nobody!" Kaminari replied, prompting laughter from the crowd. The electric blond sent air kisses (two of which were received) and the crowd settled down for him to continue. He cleared his throat again.

"When I was 4, I thought I'd be really ~~fucking~~ ecstatic being 17, but here we are and I think that ship sailed a long time ago," he started, making the audience laugh again. _What's so ~~fucking~~ funny?_ "Ever since I was five, I started to not think much about my birthday anymore. Yes, I had yard parties before but that still doesn't seem like my thing."

Everyone leaned close, those in the pool laid their hands on the side to lay their heads on. Ashido, Kaminari and Sero stood beside him and gave their supportive thumbs ups for him to continue. He rolled his eyes, feigning stability.

"So in case you still don't get it, this _whole entire thing_  wasn't my idea at all." He gestured to the party. "Now listen up ~~fuckers~~ because I would only say this once," he said, glancing at Aizawa, expecting a glare but only got a normal stare for once, "This whole ~~fucking~~ ordeal wasn't mine at all for me to receive the ~~damn~~ credit. I didn't ask for them to do this but they still did. _Everything_  is thanks to my friends that have the natural personality of a crackhead, Kaminari, Sero, Ashido..."

His eyes wandered to the open entrance, spotting a flash of red hair and red Crocs.

"...and Kirishima."

The said redhead was panting; he must have ran his way here. Eijirou raised his pointer finger to his lips, telling him to keep quiet about his presence. He then proceeded to raise the hood of his hoodie over his obnoxious red hair and stayed close in the borders of shadows around the place. Katsuki understood, no matter how weird it appeared.

"These guys..." he continued, setting his eyes back to the audience before anyone noticed where Eijirou was, "were softdrink drunk kids holding iced tea cups. Embrace nothing but them."

The moment he handed the microphone to Kaminari, the audience applauded after a long moment of silence. Heavy arms tackled him to the point it seemed his breath was being cut off. His three friends grinned, teared up and squealed like idiots at his neck and shoulder in their unwanted group hug. "Get away from me, fools. I can't ~~fucking~~ brea--I said go away! I'll ~~fucking~~ boil your flesh, Sero! Get your hands off of me!"

That was proven effective, since the three idiots let him free and Kaminari took his place. Katsuki stepped off the stage and took a glass and sat back on his velvet chair. It was actually comfortable; plus he felt like a king that he knew he was.

His mind wandered back to the redhead. Feeling off since the start was enough torture, Eijirou definitely owes him one!

That was what was wrong: _Eijirou was missing from the event_. When Katsuki stood, he knew there was always two standing at his either side. Seeing Mina alone at his right was enough clue― _someone was missing_ that's making him feel off all evening.

He looked up, between the gaps of the people's shoulders, but Eijirou was no longer there. He rolled his eyes and slumped on his chair.

"Bakugou Katsuki, everyone, is my bestfriend! I, along with Shinsou and Jirou, helped Mina, Sero and Hagakure set this place up. Nothing we won't do for him!" he exclaimed. "He's the strongest in our friendship group, both mentally and physically. His body is made of the strongest iron, though I do admit he's a huge ~~fucking asshole~~ most of the time."

"The ~~fuck~~ did you say, Dunce Face?" he gasped, offended. Sero and Mina held his shoulders down and from the gaze Aizawa had on him, he stayed put.

Whatever. _He's an asshole, so what?_ It's not like it's a huge surprise. In fact, he'd like being feared. 

The crowd laughed again at the speech. Katsuki watched in amusement, but with a fake scowl on his face. Yes, he do ~~fucking~~ admit it now, he ~~fucking~~ _~~love~~_ his friends. So there.

 

* * *

 

Midoriya is glad.

One, because Kacchan seemed to have a good time and two, that he teased the said blond without getting threatened.

He was sitting at the poolside, Todoroki and Uraraka at his left and Iida at his right. They were the ones on the back of the pool crowd, preferring to watch from afar.

He had listened to the speech whole heartedly. It was a miraculous phenomenon for Kacchan to deny any credit offered to him and being his childhood friend, Midoriya was more than glad to finally see him change for the better. Kacchan had great friends and a great life, honors to his feats and endeavors too.

The speech hit him hard, though. " _These guys are softdrink drunk kids holding iced tea cups. Embrace nothing but them"_  sounds like something that would come from a cheesy teen hit song album, but that actually came from _Kacchan's mouth._ Midoriya knew that what he probably meant was "Thank them, not me", but the wording was just so perfectly poetic that his Literature scores were found _shaking_  at the trashcan; his wig is on its way to Jupiter. 

They laughed along and his heart _melted_  at the sight of the three tackling Kacchan into a group hug.

Midoriya knew he could entrust Kacchan to them safely now. Before, Kacchan's friends were the _most toxic people_ _ever_ , but now that Kacchan had found his home, he could rest easy.

Kacchan would _cremate_ him if he said this out loud, but _he really wanted to be his hero so bad_. He was content having Kirishima be the hero in the Camino Ward incident, as well as letting Uraraka and Todoroki challenge Kacchan right on (with Todoroki not even needing to do anything since Kacchan is annoyed by his presence alone). All he needed to do was to pave a way for Kacchan to find a place he belonged, and now that Kacchan was slowly starting to get that the Bakusquad was his home, maybe he could relax.

"Why are you smiling?" Todoroki whispered near his ear. It made him jump at the sudden cool breath hitting his ear. 

"I-I don't know, Shouchan. I feel happy, why?"

"Nothing. I thought you'd notice that Kirishima slipped inside and went away."

"What?" he whisper-yelled, looking around. "Kirishima? Really? I thought he's--"

He slapped a hand to his mouth, earning Todoroki's intrigue. "He's what?"

"Nothing..." Midoriya looked back forward, ignoring Todoroki with a muttered apology. Ahead, he saw that Kaminari was frowning to someone at the poolーdirectly at Shinsou.

"My gift for my best bro is an investment, though I do believe that honesty and common sense are expensive gifts as well. Don't expect them from _cheap_ people," he said, referring to Shinsou. Kaminari earned a round of applause and laughter, but admidst the claps was Shinsou's reply.

" _You're_ cheap!" Shinsou shouted from the poolside, hands around his mouth and gaining the attention of most of the crowd.

"Sometimes it's called ~~asshole,~~ sometimes it's called Shinsou," Kaminari replied sarcastically. 

"Sometimes it's called nonsense, sometimes it's called Denki."

"OHHHHHHH!" Everyone clapped their praise at the brainwashing-quirk user's comeback, with Sero screaming the hardest.

"I still don't remember what in the world I had done to piss him off _that_  day," Midoriya mumbled, mostly to himself. Shinsou was part-psycho and part-sadistic, and when he was seriously pissed the person _would_ be at his mercy in  _seconds._ Somehow, at least Midoriya knows it wasn't just him who has to suffer through all that. Poor Kaminari. Poor Monoma. 

"That's all for me! To end," Kaminari said, "Everyone! Repeat after me: I have no talent."

The audience laughed again, some _actually_ repeating what Kaminari had said. Kaminari passed the mic to Sero and made a step to dive down the pool right on the spot to attack Shinsou, if not only for Mina and Tetsutetsu who pulled him away. The audience laughed and clapped. Kaminari wasn't amused.

"So, it's my time to shine!" Sero announced proudly. "I'm Sero, I'm sixteen, and my dad knows your dad," he clicked his tongue, winking and finger gunning toward Jirou. "I believe in the quote that says as we grow older, we become wiser so if I were you, don't go to school until you're, like, 70."

"I'm fully convinced you never graduated kindergarten, Sero." Mina facepalmed. "Seriously, now!" 

Another round of applause and amused laughs resounded to the point Uraraka even fell down the pool, laughing. Tsuyu rescued the brunette before she drowned. Midoriya snorted, but he definitely didn't miss the way Todoroki's eyes went narrow at that. He placed his attention back to Sero instead.

"Child prodigies and overachievers make me depressed, but Best Bro right here is an exception. We wish you a happy birthday bro, enjoy your night."

Midoriya can't help but snicker at the last part, sharing a knowing glance with Uraraka. "Oh, he will enjoy the night." The brunette winked.

"Uh, what?" Iida asked.

"Mhm, Bakugou will enjoy the night. It's his birthday," Uraraka innocently said, turning from 100-0 in a few seconds. Iida nodded half-heartedly and looked away. 

"Uh, sure."

Todoroki pulled his knees in and brushed his hair back with his fingers, pushing himself to stand.

"Where are you going?" the green-haired teen asked.

"I'm going to get juice." Once again, he noticed the taller teen's passive gaze toward the side, and the sudden deepness in the teen's voice. Somehow, he had the feeling that it wasn't just the cold water.

"I'll come with you." Todoroki didn't protest.

The two stepped away from the pool. The cold breeze made Midoriya's knees shake and chill run down his spine. He wrapped his own arms around him as they approached the food table. Todoroki himself was walking fine _and even hotter, too_ which made Midoriya wish that his quirk, One For All, had a warming function too. (Hotter as in warmer, though Midoriya won't deny he had double meanings by that and both meanings are true.) He spotted the drink bar and approached.

"I-is this drinkable?" His teeth shook along with his trembling arms, pointing to the pitcher of reddish liquid on the table.

Looking up, he just noticed he met Kacchan's red eyes, looking up at him from his chair with his head leaning on the back of the chair, legs apart. His childhood friend doesn't seem pissed (for once) and instead of a glare towards his direction, Kacchan just looked up at him in an unimpressed manner. 

"K-kacchan?" Was it his juice? Is he allowed to drink-- 

The blond stared silently at him, pretty much judging him just from a gaze. Kacchan didn't scowl, and instead raised a curious brow and another glance to the pitcher.

"It's up to you if you want to chew that ~~shit.~~ " 

"Kacchan!" He frowned. "I'm serious!"

"Seriously, do you ~~fucking~~ think a filled pitcher exists NOT for drinking purposes?" The blond rolled his eyes, pushing the pitcher closer to him. "Get happy, nerd. It's not mine."

Todoroki approached and silently got the two of them plastic cups, filling both with juice. The fact he didn't even awknowledge Kacchan made Midoriya uneasy, though he stayed quiet. Todoroki must be tired. Either that, or the chlorine got to him. (Or....he's internally panics in _gay_ as he starts to theorize that maybe he _is_ the side chick--) 

When he turned, he saw that Kacchan was just as confused as he was. The blond's eyebrows are furrowed and his gaze alternate between him and Todoroki. "I don't know what's going on, nerd, but don't tell me."

"...Thanks, Kacchan. For noticing, I guess."

He accompanied the half-blonde half-redhead and to his surprise, they didn't return to their spot at the pool with Uraraka and Iida. Todoroki went straight to the empty pool deck chairs and sat down, drinking.

"Midoriya..." he called.

"Yes?"

"Are we friends?"

"What?" It caught him off guard. "Are we not friends already? Since, like, five whole months ago?" He's taking this on a spiritual levelー _are they not friends all this time?!_

He glanced at the heterochromic teen's face, which was utterly serious and somewhat looking confused if you squinted. It struck a chord in his heartstrings that made him worried and concerned, scooting closer and awaiting for a reply. 

"Is it just me or are you keeping something from me?"

Midoriya's eyes widened. His head involuntarily blocked out the party temporarily and focused on his friend. "What?"

"The camera...the _references._ Tell me, Izuku, what are you and Bakugou even?" Todoroki raised his head and turned to him and said in the most deadpan voice ever...

"Izuku, are you Bakugou's mental health counselor?"

"What."

 

* * *

 

Bakugou took a deep breath. His phone flashed due to another Twitter notification, and all he got from his mere glance was that it was 9:24pm. It was incredibly late, but he already planned to stay up late anyway. After the party, he'd tell his roommate Tokoyami about his plans to go to the shore to have his annual birthday solitude. He picked him as a roommate for a reasonーhe knew Tokoyami won't question it and he won't question Tokoyami's _things_ as well. 

He placed the stacks of boxes on his bedroom floor, transferring his gifts upstairs to his room. It made his heart...feel something just knowing that his classmates had given him gifts and he settled on calling that feeling "thankfulness". _There,_ he finally accepted it.

He sat down and took a peek at the remaining unopened gifts, now alone at his hotel room. He took his time, knowing Tokoyami won't return until the party was over.

He checked his phone again after unwrapping everything, and it was 9:56pm. It took him a lot to vent his frustration out on tearing the gift wraps mercilessly, and now he was somehow regretful that he was now surrounded by torn pieces of paper. Lots of them. He looked back at his bed and looked at his gifts once again.

He never had this much gifts since his seventh birthday party. He was expecting himself to be frustrated being bought gifts, but he felt uneasy instead. At the end, the myriad of at least five contrasting emotions he felt resulted into one thing: _joy._

He made sure to throw the gift wraps away, but he kept the boxes and the tags that went with them in one of his bag's pockets to bring home with him (don't tell anyone or else he'll put _you_  in his bag's pockets and bring _you_ home--wait, that wasn't scary, was it?).

He knew the ~~bastards~~ were still downstairs so he can't really sneak out without being observed and followed, so he took his time to  lay horizontally on his bed and read the gift tags once again, facing the ceiling and holding his hands up holding the tags. To kill time, he wanted to tell himself. It's not like he really wanted to read written notes because he felt like it had some sentimental value in them. Not at all. 

>   _Here, a stress ball. Squeeze the stress away. Happy Birthday._
> 
>  
> 
> _-Icyhot_

Katsuki rolled his eyes. Todoroki had the nerve to give him a joke gift, but on the back of the tag said,

>   _Just kidding. I got you some shirts I think you'll like. All your shirts came from the same store, and it won't surprise me if you already had these ones. Happy Birthday._

He placed the card on the back of the pile and read the next.

>   _Happy 17th birthday, Bakugou! These are high quality so please don't break it!_
> 
>  
> 
> _\- your personal charging station_

The blond had got him some blue light-up noise cancelling headphones, still wrapped on its original box which, as Katsuki had searched on the web, was actually _legit_ and _really_ cost a fortune. It wasn't really something someone would gift other people with, but here they were.

The next one on the pile was still from Dunce Face, but this was found on the inside of the box.

>   _Mina and I found this cute meme and it reminded us of you. <3_

And there, printed, was an inhaling seagull meme with his face taped on to where the seagull's head was supposed to be. He only kept that to burn in the fireplace, _he swore to God._

>   _Happy Birthday : )_
> 
>  
> 
> _-Iida_

The message was indeed simple, but the reason he kept them was because of the gift that it was given with. The class rep got him ITE hearing aids, which were fitted to his ear so it won't fall during training or in everyday life. Iida's gift wasn't a surprise, he had to ask Katsuki to have his ear molded for the fitting, but now that he had the hearing aids themselves, a part of him wanted to ask _what in the world_ got Iida to think _"Why don't I gift Bakugou with hearing aids?"_ and actually went on with it?

He knew hearing aids cost a lot but some classmate of his buying him a customized set just because? _That's...._

Tears started to well up in his eyes, surrounded by gifts around his bed. He blinked them away, because _sure as hell he won't be crying right there_. At least not tonight. He is no pussy. 

He placed Iida's tag at the back of the pile and read the next one.

>   _You're still angry at us, and we still hate you, but today is an exception! We got you popping candies from the United States as well as movies we thought you'd like. We know your class and our class weren't really on the greatest of terms but it's vacation anyway. Courtesy of Pony, Setsuna and Kendou, Happy Birthday Bakugou!_
> 
>  
> 
> _-1−年B-組_

At the back of the small piece of cardboard were lots and lots of signatures. Most of them were scribbled lines which he had no idea and no intention to know which came from which, but the ones he could clearly recognize the cursive from were "Itsuka Kendou", "Manga Fukidashi", "Yui Kodai" and "Setsuna Tokage". Either way, those were all the students of the other section that antagonized his class the entire year.

_They were just lucky that he actually liked popping candy. Let alone a foreign brand he only tried once before,_ he thought as he grabbed one of the packs and filled his mouth with the sugary, strawberry-flavored contents.

Another one who gifted him food (that he liked, which made him feel watched all of the sudden) was Tsu, who got him jalapeno butter popcorn and tabasco jelly beans. Anyone who had joined him eat sometime knew he liked spicy food, but he never told anyone (even ~~Shitty~~ Deku or ~~Shitty~~ Hair) that he liked the jelly beans in particular. Perhaps Tsuyu just got lucky, but half of the gifts that he was given "just got lucky" as well. _Either way, if Tsuyu was just bluffing then she's sure as heck right_ , he thought as he grabbed one of the jelly beans he opened and placed it on his mouth, contrasting the sweetness of the popping candy. 

Finally, the last card was from Hagakure aka _Invisihead_ who was sitting in front of him in class.

>   _I lost the manual while I was wrapping this, but you could ask Denki-kun for the additional functions! I saw that he got the same one._
> 
>  
> 
> _Happy Birthday! Enjoy your night~_
> 
> _-Tooru_

She got him a portable solar charger, which he had no idea how to use other than knowing that the wire is used to plug your phone to the main load. The charger itself was orange, a huge contrast to the black and red-colored gifts he had received. Again, lucky bluff since he just had lost his solar charger at one of his hikes last year.

Not to mention that most of his gifts cost _a lot_. The one that probably cost the most were the inline skates, the headphones and the hearing aids, and those three came from people he didn't openly and  _particularly_  got along with.

Just as when he remembers Hagakure's charger, his phone lit up in his pocket for a low battery notification. He groaned, placing the tags on his bag pocket and looking at his bed for his phone charger.

"Where is it?!" he shouted, lifting his bedsheets and pillows only to find nothing. He knew for sure he just placed his charger right there at his--

Wait.

_"Hey, bro. Do you have an android charger?" Kirishima asked, knocking on his door at 12am last night._  He remembered throwing his charger to the redhead's face, angry because his sleep was interrupted.

Kirishima, the ~~fucking ass~~ \--

He grabbed his phone, as well as his power bank because sure as hell he won't have the motivation to go up five floors to walk back to his room. He went down using the stairs, venting out his frustration by stomping down and hard (in contrast to the awkward silence at an elevator) and marched right in his own party.

He was just gone for an hour and everything is already...different?

The teachers were given UNO cards and are playing at their own corner. The pool was also frosted even though Icyhot was at the poolside. Glasses carried Round Face at his shoulders at the pool, chicken fighting with Tail and Racoon Eyes. Icyhot and ~~Shitty~~ Deku was cheering for Glasses and Round Face, casually cheating by pointing their water guns at Tail and Racoon Eyes for them to lose. The two brought their guns down and grabbed a bowl of something, sharing a spoon and coming back to support their friends.

_Did they just share a spoon?_ "My eyes never liked these kind of things," he grumbled under his breath, scanning more around the place.

Kirishima-lookalike, Frog and Grape also emerged from the water surfaceーGrape was choking, Kirishima-lookalike held a coin up proudly and Froggy raised Kirishima-lookalike's hand, making Class 1-B cheer at their win. Katsuki also noticed that Shinsou passed ~~Copy-quirk-shitter~~ a coin, possibly losing in a bet.. 

He marched near the poolside, crouching down and asked Racoon Eyes in his most angry voice.

"Where is Kirishima? I need my own ~~fucking~~ charger back!" He registered Racoon Eyes's barely-hid wicked smile, but before he placed his phone away and dived to personally strangle her, someone interrupted him who he could strangle instead.

"What makes you think he's here?" Monoma (that's the ~~bastard's~~ name! ~~fucking~~ finally he remembered!) smirked, making him lose his body control and the next thing he knew, Shoji is pulling him from behind while _Monoma_  was being pulled back by Shinsou and a reddish-haired girl.

"Monoma, stop!"

The two continued resisting until Katsuki pushed himself away from Shoji's grip, marching right away from the area. ~~"Fucking~~ hell. I have no time for stupidity tonight." His phone is at 20%, and if his phone died, someone will die along with it as well. 

The wind was colder on open space. He marched out to the woods between the hotel's fence and the sandy beach, violently _mumbling_ under his breath. He doesn't care if he's acting like the nerd, he's just plain frustrated! What's making him feel that way? _Was he allergic to affection?!_ Though, right now his veins were suddenly filled with adrenaline from the rush he was desperately trying to vent. Now that it was converted to anger, he could finally-

His phone lit up on his hand. Another low battery notification?

No.

>   _ ~~Shitty~~ Hair sent you a message_
> 
>  
> 
> _~~Shitty~~ Hair: im sorry i cant attend your party fully. im kinda busy sorry again_
> 
> _~~Shitty~~ Hair: borrow Kaminari's charger. i forgot to return yours_
> 
> _~~Shitty~~ Hair is typing_

He stopped in his tracks, staring in anticipation at the screen. The next message filled him with uneasiness _again._

>   _ ~~Shitty~~ Hair: Hey...can i call u? I need to tell u smth important. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste of Blueberries On Fruit Cans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓  
> Chapter 3: Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid ✓  
> Chapter 4: Eri's Apple Cores and Todoroki Misses The Smores ✓  
> Chapter 5: To The Only Friend I Need ✓  
> Chapter 6: Being Alone On Your Birthday 101 By Bakugou Katsuki ✓  
> Chapter 7: Extremely Thoughtful Efforts For The Extremely Unthoughtful ✓
> 
> "Another chapter done," Iida said lazily. The sun still hadn't set in the End Notes section for some reason, and it's starting to freak him out how lonely it was right here. His friends were at the main body while he always gets stuck at the End Notes after every chapter. He really misses his friends, when would this story even end?
> 
> //Bitcoin gift reference taken from real life! Ctto//  
> //Vine References: III//  
> //Inline Skates are also called Rollerblades//  
> //I saw this dragon necklace with a red crystal on Hot Topic and I remembered Katsuki. Imagine Uraraka going to Hot Topic trying to blend in-//  
> //Speaking of Hot Topic necklaces, I also saw this one that is like a couple necklace but instead of "I love you" and "I love you too", it said "I hate you" and "I hate you too". It took all my effort refraining myself from even referencing that too-//
> 
> NEXT UP:   
> -Why Kirishima wasn't in the party   
> -KIRIBAKU CONFESSIOOOOOON OMYGOD FINALLY   
> -A glimpse into my favorite character ever, Todoroki's Phone (aka Todoroki's Phone Pov)   
> -Todoroki calling Bakugou...a bitch? idk  
>  


	8. They're Gayer Than They Planned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //Plan A: If Katsuki responded positively, then it would be actual Disney shit and everything is happy yada yada-  
> Plan B: If Katsuki responded negatively, Eijirou would just leave the state, move to Antarctica, change his name and be a sheep herder.  
> Plan C: Hire a hitman. Whether it would be for Eijirou or Katsuki is still wasn't decided, but Eijirou was personally leaning more on the "Eijirou" option.//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //I don't own any brands in here.//

Crickets, tall branches, the moonlight, some stars scattered on the dark sky in a pattern that may or may not be Milky Wayーthat's the night that he did not expect he'd experience on his bestfriend's birthday. He expected chlorine, orange drinks, pool floatees and karaokes, not...this. It was completely disappointing for Kirishima, but _hopefully_  the girls had this thought out, right? Right? 

His legs were itching to march right in the pool party and have fun, but all he could do was just make up excuses to atleast  _walk nearby._ It was starting to get annoying and really _unmanly,_ but what could he do right? The girls may be doing something that could risk his chances of approval if he went off the plan.

So excuses that is. 

"You wanna...I don't know, get a drink? I can buy you jelly drinks from the vending machine," he quickly offered out of the blue. Good excuse, good excuse. 

"Uhm, if you--"

"Okay! I'll be back." He already stood, placing the hood on his head and walking past trees to the tiled area of the hotel to the vending machine. The trip was quick, and he went back to the woods as fast as he can. He also cannot risk being caught by Ashie. The girl could melt through rocks, ~~damn.~~  

All night, Kirishima was having the largest and longest moment of anxiety in his life that at this point, overthinking is now his new religion. Ashie had the guts to come up with a weird ~~ass~~ plan and sure, Kirishima was annoyed, but he cannot bring himself to hate the girl. He could, though, hate her plan. It was so ~~damn~~  unmanly: hiding in the woods, seriously? During a party?

"Thanks," his companion said as he gave him the jelly drink. They slurped in the silence and also through the never-ending boredom, so the redhead decided to think back to the memories he had this morning and try to make a conversation with his companion. 

When he and Yaomomo returned from Phase 1, he didn't really change his clothes. They also didn't buy leather belts at all. The paper bags didn't really contain Gucci either. Actually, he had Yaomomo help him wrap his gifts in his room instead. Pretending to be not decent inside would lessen the chances of Denki barging inside (the guy didn't know the art of knocking--) and revealing their plan. 

And yes, it was still like that even though Denki is a part of the operation. _He's...a wildcard_ , Kirishima would settle at that. He just cannot risk this one thing... 

"Gucci wasn't really necessary but Yaomomo really wanted to go all out on it, heh," he explained, sitting cross-legged behind a tree where Ashie set him a picnic mat. The grass tickled their toes, making the mat feel like sitting on a cloud. A pokey spikey cloud. 

"Yaomomo? Is she the "Yaoyorozu" Awase was talking about?" the other teen asked, his voice indentifiable in the sounds of the woods at night. Kirishima nodded his reply; he _did_ hear about the possible love team connecting Class 1-A and Class 1-B: Momo Yaoyorozu and Yosetsu Awase. He doesn't know yet, but it seemed like it was romance material. He still haven't heard Yaomomo's reaction about that but he won't push hard into it. It seemed Yaomomo likes someone already. Whatever Yaomomo wants, he will support. 

"Hmm, I still don't see the point of me being chosen as the one accompanying you here." the brunet across from him shrugged, and Kirishima returned the gesture.

"I also have no idea, man. Ashie and Kendou-san had reasons, I guess."

"Kendou told me to "accompany you for a while" and you seem like a nice guy, so I don't care. Continue with your rant."

In front of him was Class 1-B's _Spiral,_ real name's Sen Kaibara, Kendou's friend that Mina sent him to the woods with to have someone sane to talk to. The two of them sat cross-legged by the woods, complete with black hoodies that Kendou had them wear to avoid being seen and recognized. Honestly, Kirishima felt like he was a ninja. A hoodie ninja, if that makes sense. _Hiya!_  

Why they were there? Here goes nothing, then.

It was Mina Ashido's idea, as always.

>   _7:54pm_
> 
>  
> 
> _Ashie: hey kirishima_
> 
> _Kirish: yeah?_
> 
> _Ashie: where are u again? u disappeared_
> 
> _Ashie: again_
> 
> _Kirish: at the hotel room, why?_
> 
> _Ashie: wayd?_
> 
> _Kirish: thinking how exactly id confess and wallowing in panic, y?_
> 
> _Ashie: bro. trust us. he'll say yes i sWEAR_
> 
> _Ashie: anyway so here's this thing i thought_
> 
> _Kirish: what?_
> 
> _Ashie: dont attend the party_
> 
> _Kirish: whAT_
> 
> _Kirish: why_
> 
> _Kirish: excuse me? that's my bestbro's party and im not allowed to come?_
> 
> _Ashie: no no ~~damn~~ hear me out_
> 
> _Ashie: bakugou will probably feel uncomfortable without you, we just wanted to see his reaction u know?_
> 
> _Ashie: itd be hilarious!_
> 
> _Ashie: ill get u proof, dont worry. u could still swim too, but once hes gone. ill handle everything._
> 
> _Kirish: fine.._
> 
> _Kirish: what should i do then?_
> 
> _Ashie: go hang out in the woods nearby._
> 
> _Kirish: what about Aizawa_
> 
> _Ashie: oh trust me hes covered_
> 
> _Kirish: u really thought about this didnt u_
> 
> _Ashie: yep! xoxo_
> 
> _Kirish: how do i confess tho_
> 
> _Kirish: i mean im still thinking abt it. need tips_
> 
> _Ashie: then talk to him, duh!_
> 
> _Kirish: what? no, he'll think im gay or smth_
> 
> _Ashie: 🖕_
> 
> _Kirish: just kidding, come on, im joking_
> 
> _Kirish: i know well talk, but what exactly should i say???_

 

Now it's 8:56pm and they've been at the woods for an hour already. Still, no new messages from Ashie.

"Ashido-san is like the big sister of Class 1-A? Like Kendou?" Sen blinked, tapping a finger on the ground as he laid back. The crickets seemed to cricket in reply.

"Well, personally," Kirishima said, grinning and leaning close, "I think Bakugou's both the big brother AND the big sister."

He needs distraction. Maybe Ashie really does know what she's doing when she sent Sen at the woods with him. 

Sen's façade cracked, the corners of his lips pulling up no matter how hard the teen tried to stay poker faced. "H-how?"

"He knows how to remove most stains by memory when he gets on laundry duty, as well as reprimanding our squad when Den, Ashie, Han and I plan on doing stupid things. And, and!" he whispered, "his cooking is superb! He knew terms I don't know like stir fry, glaze, al dente and--"

"Wait, you don't know _stir fry?"_ Sen asked, gasping.

"W-well," Kirishima fiddled with the tips of his toes, his crocs at the edge of the mat, "All I'm good at were grilling and making smores. Oh, there's this dude in class, Todoroki, and he has a fire quirk. I make smores and grill meat with him."

Sen stared at him blankly. He kept staring as he lifted his jelly drink and slurped. After a long silence filled by slurping sounds, he asked, "Who is that? What's he like?"

_Sen doesn't know who Todoroki is?_ Kirishima hummed. He looked around as he thought. From the high branches to the shadows made by the leaves, his eyes settled on the bright moon right above Sen's head. "You. Just like you."

"Me?" the dark-haired teen asked in a low voice, slurping once again. "Really?" 

_Sluuuuuuurp._  

"Yes, you," Kirishima said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. _Slurp, slurp, ~~bitch.~~ That's the mantra._

He personally had only eaten with the Ice-Fire quirk user only twice before, and in both times, he could _feel_ how he slurps like he is made for it. 

Sen hummed. He leaned back and checked his phone before closing his eyes once again. "I was about to say you're just like Tetsutetsu mixed with Kendou but I know you already know," he said. "So back to our main topic, you say you're about to confess?"

The image of Bakugou suddenly appearing in his thoughts returned the anxiety and nervousness that he was learning to forget in the moment. Sen doesn't know who he will confess to, and he doesn't need to know. "Y-yeah, why?"

"Are you nervous?" Sen inquired even more. The way his tone was unreadable made Kirishima furrow his eyebrows and squirm at his seat. He nodded wordlessly instead. Sen nodded at this, slurping. 

"I lied. Kendou didn't send me here to "accompany you". She sent me here to _counsel_  you. Ashido-san told us you were agitated." Sen inhaled sharply, fidgeting with the straw of the jelly juice box Kirishima got him. His black irises brushed from his red hair to his red eyes down to the way he sat down.

"Counseling, huh?" Kirishima sighed, squirming at the eyes focused on him. "What could you do then?"

"Do not ask what I could do for you," Sen answered, pushing himself from the ground, "Ask what you could do to yourself." The dark-haired teen gave him a short, tight-lipped smile. Placing the hood over his head, he initiated a fist bump Kirishima taught him earlier before walking away. "I'll go check on Kendou and ask what else we could do, or if we're allowed to come at this point."

Sen was already a few feet away before Kirishima registered his words. As the teen's silhouette disappeared between the trees, Kirishima closed his eyes and leaned back. _Ask what you could do to yourself,_  he repeated in his head, taking a deep, much-needed breath.

He took the pieces in his mind and started putting them together. Sen's words aren't much but he needed to do this anyway. Even if it's not as perfect as he wanted it to be, being manly is sticking up for the things you wanted to stand for. His feelings were _sure as heck_  worth standing for, so here goes nothing.

Sen returned, ushering him over. Katsuki wasn't in the premises anymore, so they entered swiftly. Kirishima spotted Kaminari and Sero by the pool, playing at their phones above the surface and immediately shouted.

"FIRST ONE TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POOL WINS!"

In less than a second, the phones were slid aside and they all dived at the mark. 

He'd have some fun tonight first. Heartbreak could wait, he had friends to drown.

 

* * *

 

The party was over around 10. It was the teachers' time to have their own pool party, not wasting the rental for the area. Most of the decorations were cleaned out like there wasn't anything in there hours ago. Shouto went upstairs around 9, right after Katsuki reappeared raging after a lost charger that was apparently at Kirishima's possession.

His roommate, Iida, was already fast asleep on the other bed while he was still up like he drank 5 cups of coffee straight. He tried sleeping, but this night doesn't seem kind. 

At these times, around the late hours of the night, he can't help but feel jealous of everyone who could just shut their eyes for one second and fall asleep straight away. He had been staying up so late recently he might as well become a part of the sleepless elite. Being nocturnal didn't really sound so bad, but the fact that you can't rest when you want to _is the one that sounds bad_. He hated it, but what else could he do over it? Cry? Bathe in money? Break a window?

He laid motionlessly at his bed. He doesn't know what time it was but it felt like decades. He didn't even bother changing to his pajamasーhe wore a black sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, with black jeans and earphones plugged to his ears playing some classical music in case that helped. Maybe that's what keeps him up, but he lost hope five minutes ago. If sleep didn't take over on the first hour he tried to sleep, then it won't take over for the rest of the night. That's his philosophy.

It definitely didn't take over, so he grabbed his phone and went straight to their group chat.

_~~Damn,~~ it's almost 12 am_ was his first thought.  

>   _Hagakure: Phase 3 commence : 3_
> 
>  
> 
> _BP in Yo Area: got it_
> 
> _Yaomomo: got it_
> 
> _RockyManlyKirishima: got it_
> 
> _Pikachu: i don't get it_
> 
> _Panic at The FOB Romance: stfu u know this_

He ignored the recent messages and typed.

>   _Icyhot sent a message to the group_
> 
>  
> 
> _Icyhot: hey._
> 
> _Icyhot: I'm going downstairs to get food. Anyone want smth?_
> 
> _Seen by Sparkle, Sapnu Puas and Army_

 

Good, others are awake too.

>   _Sparkle: Chocolate, please._
> 
>  
> 
> _Sparkle: I'll pay you double if you ask the cashier for the chilled ones._
> 
> _Sapnu Puas: Water, Todoroki-kun._
> 
> _Army: If it is okay, can I have biscuits? Anything that is a snack._

 

Aoyama, Mineta and Shoji were not the ones he was expecting to reply straight away, but he complied.

>   _Icyhot: Sure._
> 
>  
> 
> _Seen by Shine_  

_Oh good there's Bakugou too,_  he thought sarcastically. 

>   _Shine: buy me coffee_
> 
>  
> 
> _Icyhot: at 12am?_
> 
> _Shine: ~~fuck~~ hwy question it jsut ~~fucking~~ buy_

 

He ignored the typos. A few minutes passed, the group chat turned back into silence.

>   _*Contacts*_
> 
>  
> 
> _Aizawa_
> 
> _All Might_
> 
> _Aoyama_
> 
> _Ashido_
> 
> ~~_Asshole_ ~~
> 
> _Bakugou_
> 
> _ >Call_
> 
> _Deku_
> 
> ~~_Douchebag_ ~~
> 
> ~~_Fucker_ ~~
> 
> _Fuyumi_
> 
> _Iida_
> 
> _Mom_
> 
> _Natsuo_
> 
> _Uraraka_

 

_Calling "Bakugou"..._

 

Todoroki placed the phone by his ear, hearing the ringing stop and get replaced by the blond's angry greetings. " _Who the ~~fuck~~ are you and what the ~~fuck~~ do you want?_"

The blond's breaths were heavy and Todoroki could also hear some shuffling noises in the background as well as footsteps on hard flooring. Jogging at 12am?

He looked back to the coffee he held and ignored the greeting. Sure as hell, Bakugou would know who he was anyway. The half-blond half-redhead sighed as the elevator doors opened on their floor, hallways lit up dimmer for some reason. The lounge was empty except for the jacket Hagakure left there.

"Do you want your coffee or are you still being a ~~bitch?"~~ He held the coffee at his left hand, warming it. A flash of brown met his gaze the moment he entered the mini-kitchen, making him pause before realizing it was just Uraraka pretending to spy on them, holding a recorder. Todoroki decided to ignore her.

" _What did you just say to me?!_ "

He stopped right in front of Katsuki's door. "It's still my civil duty to complain. Now, do you still want your coffee because if you went on like that, I'll freeze this," he said. He doesn't understand what on earth he had done for the blond to be so angered by his existence, but seeing he was just as angered by any other existence at various degrees, he doesn't care. 

~~"~~ _ ~~Goddamn~~ it, just bring the ~~fucking~~ coffee!_"

The call ended. The moment the call window disappeared, his phone vibrated on a new message.

>   _Bakugou sent you a message_
> 
>  
> 
> _Bakugou: dont knock. just p lace it at the floorr infront of the ~~fucking~~ ddoor and leave. _
> 
> _Todoroki: pay me two bills tomorrow._
> 
> _Bakugou: ~~fuck~~ u._
> 
> _Todoroki: make that four_
> 
> _Bakugou: !?_
> 
> _Todoroki: make that six_
> 
>  

Todoroki smiled sadistically at how the "Bakugou was typing" appeared and disappeared in an amusing rate, until the blond went offline and left him on read. He crouched down and left the coffee (warm; he wasn't _that_  evil to freeze it) at Bakugou and Tokoyami's hotel room door.

He walked away and slowly opened his and Iida's room, careful to not wake their class rep. The other day, when they picked roommates, it wasn't him who chose Iida, nor did Iida choose him. Since everyone was given the free choice to pick, everyone pretty much chose others. The only other free option was Mineta, so he and Iida stuck with each other. He would like to pick Midoriya, but Shinsou just had to drag the green-eyed boy to be his roommate and Midoriya was just too kind to complain.

Speaking of Midoriya, his phone vibrated to a new notification.

>   _@DekuIsHere tweeted: why does the pool glow at night?_
> 
> _5 retweets / 13 likes_

He sat at the edge of his bed as he opened his messaging app, tapping on Midoriya's contact and typing.

>   _Shouchan: hey, you're still up? it's midnight_
> 
> _Deku: yeah, overnight swimming_

 

That explains the tweet. 

>   _Shouchan: cool_
> 
> _Deku: im with uraraka, yao, kami, mina and sero. wanna join?_

 

_Did he just invite him?_ Todoroki swallowed before typing through trembling fingers.

>   _Shouchan: cool. ofc._
> 
> _Deku: hey. uhh._
> 
> _Deku: hold on, look, we tryna live record kirishima-kun's confession and we used shoji's drone and your camera so...please dont invite anyone else?_
> 
> _Deku: its a...secret thing._

 

"Oh my god," he whispered under his breath. Something awakened in him and travelled through his veins which made him discard every effort he had of relaxing. Maybe it was the fact that he was invited into something that only a few people was aware of. It's limited edition knowledge. 

>   _Shouchan: who else is there?_
> 
> _Deku: everyone but satou, koda, mineta, shoji, tokoyami, iida and kacchan (lol)_
> 
> _Shouchan: ok. i see._
> 
> _Deku: oh and._
> 
> _Deku: please come down with a hat. a cap. for disguise._
> 
> _Shouchan: sure_

 

He shoot up from his bed, changing onto his swimming shorts and a clean white shirt. He took another deep breath and sipped the milktea he bought for himself bottoms up before throwing it and slowly opening the door once again. Nobody else was awake but it seems the teachers were still up and awake playing cards (patrolling) so it seems what the others were doing is legal.

>   _Deku: we're at the vanishing edge pool_
> 
> _Deku: saw you_
> 
> _Deku: turn around_

Todoroki read the message and complied, seeing his friend waving, his green-hair stuffed onto a beanie he got him last December, before the holidays. The six were cooped up sitting at the stairs near the edge of the pool, looking at something that wasn't in his line of vision. Todoroki placed his black cap over his head, covering his really attention-grabbing hair. 

He lowered himself on the cold waters and found that it reached just by his chest and stopped there. He opened his mouth to speak about the pool's depth but Midoriya's warm hands wrapped around his left arm and pulled him close to the poolside, where a laptop and a set of speakers were placed on the _wet_  ground level.

"Yaomomo's laptop and Uraraka's speakers are waterproof, don't worry," Mina explained, her pink hair hidden by a ladies' summer hat. She must have noticed his expression. 

The laptop screen was playing a video, which Kaminari entered to play. The screen was dark, but when Todoroki saw Sero was holding some kind of controller, that's when it clicked. He slowly looked up at the dark sky, and there he saw an almost unnoticable black drone moving around. They must have used his waterproof camera in case the drone failed and fell to the pools... 

"How did you let Iida know?" he whispered, eyes back on the computer screen and the smug grins covering Uraraka and Mina's faces. He caught Midoriya's gaze on him with a sheepish expression.

"Iida-kun doesn't know..."

The half and half blinked at his friend, looking at others for confirmation but they're just focused on the laptop screen.

"B-but he will! Tomorrow." Midoriya smiled nervously, facing back forward to lean on his arms on the side and watching the record carefully.

He watched the screen in anticipation, as if everyone's anticipation rubbed off on him. The black, pixelized screen soon focused, Sero adjusting something using the controller, and soon he could make out red hair leaning at the rails at the edge of the rooftop.

"Is that safe?" he can't help but ask, seeing the redhead on the screen just holding onto the rails and his feet dangling off the edge. Yaoyorozu looked at him and smiled.

"Of course. We planned this. At the end, even if we look like raisins staying in this pool, it will be worth it." Yaomomo chuckled, sharing a laugh with Uraraka. Todoroki watched on the screen as he saw a blondーBakugouーbeside a redheadーKirishima.

Earlier, Midoriya finally explained the plan they were having: Operation: KiriBaku. In all means, he felt actually stupid inside. His guess was _way too far_  from the reality. In his defense, it actually looked like Midoriya was a mental health counselor considering the circumstances! It was the first time he actively blushedーhe wasn't _that_ embarassed before. 

He did feel a little bit offended that Midoriya or Uraraka didn't tell him something at first but when he knew what _it_  was, a part of him wished he didn't pry too much about it. But now, most of the hesitation disappearedーhe had been thinking of it while having his late night thoughts. He too noticed how weird Kirishima was acting since the retreat, and even how distant he became from his own friends. It seemed it there wasn't any drama at allーhe's just nervous.

At this point, he felt something that seems like _understanding_  toward Kirishima. The fact he was brave enough to face it even though he still had doubts and would cost the hard-earned trust Katsuki built with him, wasn't that something deeper than just likeness and bravery? He never liked Katsuki for nothing. Not just because he's "strong" and "hot", did he? It was obvious there was something he doesn't know, but either way, this is ground-breaking at most.

He noticed how Katsuki changed his mood undertones over time. Out of the corner of his eye, he could sometimes catch the blond _smile_  with no malicious intentーwhether it was because he finally found out the crossword for lysergic acid diethylamide or because Kaminari said an actual good joke. Todoroki could conclude that Bakugou's mood is improving overall. Yes, he still despises how Katsuki is still mean towards him, but he doesn't even mind anymore.

He was pretty sure both Midoriya and Kirishima had something to do with the mood progress.

"Omg, is he...?" Uraraka suddenly gasped, slamming her hand onto the water that splashed some on his chest, bringing Todoroki out of his thoughts.

"Yes, he's crying," Mina gasped, leaning closer. "Oh my god, what?"

"Shh, wait, everyone, I'm trying to hear the record," Midoriya shushed everyone, pressing something on his ear. Mina nodded her apology, having Sero adjust the drone's view. Kaminari groaned, already in the middle of the pool floating on his boredom. 

"Ughhh, nothing is heavier than this than maybe my eyelids." He looked at everyone. "I'll leave if you ask me to. All I want to do is sleep~"

"Shut up, _god,"_ Mina said, "You're so lazy! You're needed here."

"Yes, I am needed," Kaminari said, holding up his hands were he held the tip of Yaoyorozu's laptop charger on his left and the speaker wires on his right, powering them on. "But no, I'm not "lazy", I'm on powersaving mode. _This_  is literally draining me."

"Aw, bro, come on," Mina said, swimming closer and pulling Kaminari's floating body by his ankles, making him panic and almost drown, almost electrocuting everyone since his quirk-suppressant bracelet wasn't worn. Todoroki gulped at the risks his classmates had put themselves on. Mina hugged the blond, tapping him on the back with her hand and pulled him closer to them. "You're cool. I'm sorry, President Idiot."

"It's okay, Vice-President Idiot," Kaminari replied, meeting her small fist bump.

Todoroki felt a tap at his shoulder as he didn't realize he was looking at the two for far too long. He turned, meeting wide, sparkling emerald eyes.

"Hey, can you...cool the water down a bit? It's getting hotter."

He widened his eyes and raised his left hand, looking at it as if he was accusing it of treason. "I'm...sorry."

He frosted the pool earlier, and now he almost made it boil.

He sighed, cooling the water down with his right hand and keeping the left above the surface. He and his own hand weren't on good terms yet.

He looked back at the green-haired teen that tapped him. Midoriya had his eyes focused on the laptop screen and his back arched towards the edge of the pool to watch. At this point, maybe loneliness and solitude wasn't the problem...

Maybe it was that he was gayer than he planned. 

 

* * *

 

"Bakugou, calm dow--"

~~"FUCK!~~ DAMN IT!" he shouted, making Tokoyami roll his eyes and shift to his other side and ignored Bakugou's curses. Thank heavens he chose Tokoyami as a roommate because it was someone else, he'd be caught in a shouting match, which he wasn't in the mood to participate in even if he knew he'd naturally win in that anyway.

He hurriedly tied his shoes and ran out of the hotel room, going straight to the stairwell. If he's going to run from the 8th floor to the 12th floor then so be it.

He felt his phone vibrate when he reached the 10th floor. It was Icyhot and his ~~bullshit.~~ He quickly typed his replies, saying _~~fuck~~ you_ to the typos as he ran, and the only thing that night he felt proud of of doing is that he managed to type the word ~~"fucking"~~ right.

He checked the time.

** _~~FUCK.~~_**

He messed up.

He messed up so ~~fucking~~ bad!

He was supposed to wake up at 10 and be there at 12.

He woke up at 11:53

It's 11:58.

Earlier...

 

 

* * *

 

"Hey, can we talk? Your room or my room? Somewhere private? I'm going to tell you something personally," Eijirou said, his voice different over the phone. Katsuki scoffed at this, rolling his eyes and circling the charger wire around his finger angrily.

"What for? I'm charging my phone, I'm sleepy as ~~fuck~~ and your hotel room is full of Kaminari's unnecessary ~~shit."~~ He rolled his eyes and shifted to lay on his side, facing the wall and pressing his earphone's mic near his lips.

"Oh, okay. When and where?"

"Just tell me what you wanted to say. What even is it?" he asked. He started to grow curious, Eijirou sounded serious for once. Eijirou cleared his throat and sighed.

"It's something I wanted to say in person. Plus, I'll give my gift to you. I can't attend, remember?" Eijirou clicked his tongue. "But if you wanted to sleep, bruh it's okay."

"The ~~fuck?"~~ Katsuki cursed under his breath, "Just say what the ~~fuck~~ you wanted to say to me at the rooftop at midnight, alright ~~Shitty~~ Hair? Where the ~~fuck~~ are you even?"

"Helping Kaibara catch Hiryu and Awase at the beach caves," Eijirou answered far too quickly. And _specifically._ It almost scared him, but the context ignited fire in his veins. He's _offended._

"Who?" He furrowed his eyebrows. Eijirou ditched his party so that he could help ~~some-fucking-one~~ with ~~some-fucking-thing???~~

"Kaibara. The dude from 1-B," the redhead explained, "Twelve o'clock, rooftop, right?" Eijirou confirmed.

"Yeah."

"Roger. Goodnight, bro."

"Yeah."

He turned off his phone and not too long after, he passed out.

Without setting his alarm, that is.

 

* * *

 

He grabbed the waterproof jacket Nezu gifted him, not in the mood to be wearing a tank top saying _Fire and Rage and Everything Bad_  in the cold rooftop. He was running upstairs, his adrenalin rushing as if he was being chased by his mom holding a leather belt. He turned one last time, seeing a "12th floor/Rooftop" written at the floor label, making him reach forward.

~~"DAMN!"~~ The moment the tips of his fingers brushed against the doorway, he declared his victory with a curse.

He panted, heart thumping unnaturally fast against his sternum, hands on his knees as he regained his breath. Sweat ran down from his forehead down to his neck and also staining the jacket on the first wear. He and the jacket smelled incredibly of caramel now but he doesn't care. He loved that smell, it means he was more powerful and worked up, even if he smelled like bakery kitchen built between Willy Wonka's and the M&Ms factory.

"You're just on time."

He looked up, the cool breeze pushing his blond hair that stuck on his forehead back, registering the wide smile Eijirou possessed on his face. His red eyes glistened against the darkness in the rooftop, blue light coming from the open phone beside the redhead.

"I am never late."

Thank god he wasn't late. His early-streak would be back to zeroーit had been on 365 every year.

 

* * *

 

The night was hard, cool and surreal. It makes one excited, filling their veins with something that might as well be psychedelic drugs. What awaits a new day, the small flicker of fire awakening to find a new sunrise, a new morning, a new chance.

Kirishima held onto the rails tightly, his right leg pulled up to his knees where he rested his heavy head. His eyes were stuck to the night sky, as he knew that when he looked down, he would never see the end of this.

There was that one star in the sky that is still sparkling despite everything being bright down on earth. The horizon was dark with occasional lights of the sleepless elite who could never find sleep. Some lights turn off, others on. It almost seemed they were twinkling at this distance and height.

At the left was the beach, the most beautiful of all, with the waves sparkling like wine on a rich man's toast. The sea was calm, the horizon beyond was dark with mystery. It was absolutely mystifying and he could have snapped a photo here and there, but he'd rather let his mind wander and just take in the view. He knew the drone would do its job.

Tonight will either make or break his friendship with Katsuki. Thanks to Jirou, Yaomomo, Hagakure, Uraraka, Den, Sen and all the other people that supported him, he managed his thoughts after a long consideration and brought himself to face it, whether or not Katsuki finds it disgusting or what. _He didn't like him just because he wanted to be liked back._  Credits to Jirou Kyoka.

With lo-fi music playing at his earbuds, it was a dream scenarioーquiet, relaxing and alone. The blue reflection directly below him was from the pools which reflected the light of the lampposts by them, and it even reached the point that it was no longer just a reflection, it's a light emission bath. Who knew basking in the cool color of blue and the pattern the water could soothe the aches your late night soul had?

He looked at his phone, playing lo-fi music, and there he saw the time. It was 11:58pm, and in 2 minutes Katsuki's birthday would be over. In a few hours, they'd come back home.  He knew he would regret staying up too late, but who cares? Either it will be worth it or not. Nothing is too bad that it didn't teach something. _Nullus est liber tam malus ut non aliqua parte prosit_ , if you put it in Sen's words. There is no book so bad that it is not profitable in some part.

He placed his hand on his chest, feeling just how he actually managed to calm down enough for his heart to beat normally. He told Katsuki he would sleep, but in all actuality, he did not. He lied. He was at the rooftop (the beach caves excuse was a lie...) when he called and didn't leave since. He knew he cannot sleep at this conditionーnervous, agitated and worked upーeven if he _did_  try. The best he could do was to take deep breaths and clear his head, convincing himself that whatever happens, happens. Like Sen said earlier, "Omnia iam fient quae posse negabam." _Everything which I used to say could not happen, will happen now._  The guy knows a lot of Latin stuff...

_But yeah!_  He had gone this far. He won't back away now. He won't chicken out of this. He's Eijirou Kirishima, and a Kirishima doesn't back away from simple _feelings!_

~~"DAMN!"~~

He jumped up at his seat, making him look down and make his heart race at the sudden voice. Behind him was none other than Katsuki, panting, sweaty and bedheaded. His spiky hair was still spiky, but out of order.

His phone lit up and vibrated for his 12am, April 21st, alarm, smiling at it and turning it off.

"You're just on time." He removed his earphones and coiled it onto his pocket.

Katsuki stared at him with such intensity that made him think the blond will attack him right then and there due to anger. But to his surprise (his first surprise for the night), he smiled in triumph and pushed his hair back to its usual order.

"I am never late."

The way Katsuki's half-grin half-smile appeared imprinted itself automatically in Eijirou's memories. The blond approached and leaned on the rails with his elbows. Kirishima stayed at the floor. He pushed himself up and left to pull the box from the side closer, tapping the box with a sigh. Here goes nothing.

"Popsicle?" _Eijirou what are you doing, just say it!_

"Huh?" Katsuki looked down at him with furrowed eyebrows. "What for?"

He blinked. "It's an ice lolly, dude. Just take it." Kirishima brought his own popsicle to his mouth, feeling the coldness of the frozen juice hit his tongue. Sure as hell his tongue would turn blue...

Katsuki rolled his eyes and sat down, accepting the popsicle and taking an angry bite of it. "Thish hurtsh like a little ~~bish,"~~ he grumbled, tongue reacting to the coldness of the bite, ~~"Damn,~~ what do you need to tell me? Jusht shpit it out." He swallowed. ~~"Fuck,~~ this is cold."

Cold visible breath came from Katsuki's mouth as he spoke, as if he was a newly opened freezer or a vaper. Vaper sounds cooler. Is Vaper even a word?

"Uh, I'm going to say this without expecting you to do anything, but I'd rather you stay and let me say everything before you run away, alright?" _Oof, mature entrance!_ Kirishima internally clapped to himself. _You got this, Eijirou. Go on. You're ok._

"Fine, what is--"

Marimba remix played suddenly, the source inserted inside Katsuki's pocket. He quickly pulled his phone out and angrily dragged the green answer button across the lockscreen.

"Who the ~~fuck~~ are you and what the ~~fuck~~ do you want?"

Kirishima sighed, running a hand through his hair and stood, licking the popsicle stick clean and throwing it at the trash can across the rooftop. He walked to the rectangular box and dragged it closer to them. Here he thought he could make a run for it...

"What did you just say to me?!" Katsuki angrily answered to the phone. He watched as the blond's popsicle dripped to his hand and in response, Katsuki angrily bit the top off again and chewed angrily, smashing the frozen juice between his teeth making a smushy sound.

~~"Goddamn~~ it, just bring the ~~fucking~~ coffee!" The blond ended the call and typed something for a while. ~~"FUCK~~ YOU!" he screamed in frustration before shoving the phone back angrily at his pocket.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you think?!" Katsuki frustratedly leaned close to the railing and held the bars tightly. "What are you saying again, ~~Shitty~~ Hair?"

Kirishima caught Katsuki's intense gaze. He quickly avoided that gaze and settled on pulling out a lotion bottle from his pocket and setting it near them. It was none other than Hagakure's sunblock. He felt slightly weirded out but Hagakure did something to this bottle for the sake of the plan. It is, in fact, half empty and has a microphone inside. She insisted Kirishima bring it with him when he confesses, which he only agreed to because she got him a membership card at a steak eatery at home. Other than that, it seemed the drone and the microphone were there to check if they need to cockblock the confession in case he messed up. He likes to think of it as moral support.

He pushed the box to the blond and smiled. "Happy Seventeenth."

The box was velvet black and wrapped shut by a green ribbon. A red "Seventeen" was on the velvet and once again, Yaomomo took inspiration to the colors Katsuki was frequently seen in. Katsuki blinked at it before pulling it close.

"The ~~fuck?~~ This is heavy," he observed, testing the box's weight. Eijirou started breathing heavily again before he calmed himself once more. "Speaking of which, the ~~bastards~~ earlier gave me ~~shit."~~

Leave it to Katsuki to slow the entire thing and make him _die_  in the feeling of intense anticipation and anxiety. Kirishima watched as the blond pulled the green ribbon undone. He swallowed.  "How?"

"Icyhot got me a stress ball to squeeze the stress away. Do I even look stressed? Huh? Me? Stressed? The ~~fuck,~~ is he blind?" Katsuki ranted, setting the ribbon aside. ~~"Damn,~~ he got on my nerves...but...I guess it's fine. You're lucky I'm still drowsy because I'd rip this velvet apart."

"Don't you rip gifts normally?" Kirishima asked. He was dumbfounded. Aren't gift wraps supposed to be ripped apart? He was met with a heavy hand to the back of the head.

"Idiot. This is velvet. It's ~~fucking~~ expensive. I bet Ponytail had this idea. No wonder you always run out of money early in the month," Katsuki said, rolling his eyes. He proceeded to remove the wraps by the tape, not tearing the velvet apart. "Also, it's already April 21st. My birthday's yesterday."

"Bro, it still counts," Eijirou swallowed in anticipation as Katsuki took his time removing the wrapping. The box lid was now clearly seen and the blond took no time to open it.

Here we go.

"What is this?"

Eijirou fought a smile and looked to the side. He prepared for an explosion and tried to--wait, _is that smoke_?

"Cool relief patches because you need to _chill the ~~fuck~~ out?_"

Katsuki blinked. "Ha, ha, ha," he mocked, "Heh, that's funny--SHUT THE ~~FUCK~~ UP!" He shouted, "WHO THE ~~FUCK~~ DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

The redhead laughed, "You see?" He was met with a pack to the face, which he opened as the blond kept fuming.

"DO YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY?" He disposed of the packaging in his pocket and in a split second, he turned and slapped the cool relief patch onto the blond's face and stuck to his jaw.

"No, I'll never make fun of you bro," he said, watching in amusement as Katsuki took a moment to sink in the semi-slap he received. "Just your gifts."

_He just slapped Bakubro._

He didn't intend to, it wasn't a slap for him, but Katsuki would take it as one if he wanted to--

_Oh dear lord, what have hE DONE?!_

_THIS WASN'T IN THE PLAN THIS WASN'T IN THE PLAN THIS WASN'T IN THE PLAN-_

"What's this?"

"H-huh?" He flinched, but a hit or an explosion never came. He looked at the blond, seeing him look at the box, beyond the cool relief patches scattered at the top. You know, because comic _relief_  for him and his anxiety.

Katsuki reached inside and pulled out the actual gift he received. The top was black, but the underside was beech and had lightning carvings painted in with black transitioning into red as it goes, like an ombre.

"You got me a..." Katsuki asked, his usual angry growls becoming an actual curious inquiry, "A ~~fucking~~ _skateboard_...?" It was almost as if he can't believe it.

Eijirou's heart swelled as Katsuki flipped the board around, admiring the designs in the dim lighting they had. He knew that he'd see it better in a better lighting, but he doesn't care. Katsuki seemed...happy.

_Not the happiness when Deku tripped on the stairs and he was there to witness it..._

_Not the happiness when Todoroki got scratched by the house cat and he was there to see it..._

He was...

Legit _happy._

After a moment of silence, he slowly placed it back down, the tips of his fingers caressing the surface of the skateboard. He looked up to meet his gaze, before he raised his brow and a smile appeared on his face.

"Huh, ~~Shitty~~ Hair? Seriously?" he asked, making small explosions in his palm. "How many months of allowance did you save for this, hmmm?"

Eijirou fought the urge to smile.

Katsuki sat beside him, making sparks they both knew he had no intention of ever using to harm either of them. His smile wasn't exactly a predatory smirk, nor was it an actual angelic smile. It was a smile he frequently sees in....in Shinsou's face when he's teasing Denki. In Uraraka's face when she got Iida go on with her mischievous acts.

He was teasing.

_Dear god_ , Katsuki was _teasing_  him.

"Just t-three," he replied, an intense moment of happiness swallowing him. _Katsuki didn't...he made Katsuki..._

_He made Katsuki get rid of his explosive tendencies temporarily! It's...it's a miracle!_

~~"Damn,~~ how much does this cost? ~~Fuck,~~ I need to pay a part of them back," the other said.

"It's a gift," he replied, taking deep breaths. "You don't have to pay anything back. This isn't like the night vision camera thing."

Katsuki looked back at the skateboard and stopped his sparks. The sparks must be of excitement, Kirishima thought. _That's...adorable._

~~_Fuck,_~~ _control your gay, Eijirou_. 

"So, before you come back to your room, I still have to tell you something," he said, catching the blond's attention. The happiness was short lived as a part of his anxiety went back. Maybe even stronger than before. So Katsuki liked his gift, but if his confession would ruin the mood then it would be pointless. _Here comes the turning point, ~~fucking~~ finally, Eijirou you got this_.

"Yeah, I didn't ~~fucking~~ forget about that, Kirishima," Katsuki rolled his eyes, placing the box to his side. As he moved, a part of his jacket slid down his shoulder revealing muscles that was barely hidden by his loose black tank top. Eijirou brought his eyes back on Katsuki's face...and it was really hard. When he turned, he fixed the jacket and thank heavens he was facing the view, because he would sure he creeped out at how hard the redhead was staring at him.

"So, are you going to spit it out or I'll--"

He took a deep breath and said his silent prayer. _Someone help him_.

"I like you."

He waited patiently for a reply, which came just as fast as he confessed. 

" _Dear lord, prepare to be disappointed,_ " Katsuki immediately replied, surprising him.

The blond's expression was...normal. Katsuki kept his eyes on the twinkling of the lights in a distance, his shoulders relaxed and his hand supporting him from behind. Eijirou tried to ignore how the jacket was somehow a size bigger than Katsuki's actual size and the sleeves were so long that only Katsuki's fingers were visible. It was adorab-- ~~fuck,~~ _stop thinking!_

Kirishima won't lie; he definitely expected an awkward silence and a rejection, as well as at least four "You're creepy" comments. Possibly also homophobic comments because he's expecting the worst case scenario from his overthinking, even if Katsuki wasn't the type to even comment on that because _he knows_  he's gay already. He _knew_ Katsuki wouldn't stoop so low to be homophobic. He isn't dense either.

Now _t_ _his_ seemed...even worse. Was Katsuki... _denying_  it?

" **I'm attracted to you,** " Eijirou clarified. 

At this, Katsuki glanced at him quickly, his eyes unreadable. Eijirou gave up his façade. Katsuki got the message now. He hung his head down, sighing. Now here's the moment he had been waiting for in half-a-year. This is the scenario he had stalled for so long, and now it is the ultimate moment for Katsuki's decision to be made. For Kirishima, it's either Plan A, Plan B or Plan C.

He wished it would be Plan A. Let it be Plan A. As every second passes without any word exchanged between him, he just felt his heart crush even more. He was prepared for the rejection, but instead...

" _My foot is attracted to your face._ "

Plan C it is. "What?" Eijirou looked at him, equal parts confused and shocked that his anxiety was forgotten for a second.

Katsuki is looking down, to the pool or his lap, Eijirou doesn't know. His hands and arms were still supporting him as he sat, the wind blowing his jacket free at his sides that made him appear more like the perfect being Eijirou knew he couldn't reach.

But Katsuki sighed and rolled his eyes, averting his gaze. "What am I supposed to say to _that_ , you dumb ~~fuck..."~~

Eijirou's jaw fell. He was _speechless._ His emotions weren't even to blame for this one, he's actually wordless that even his mind was blank. It was a constant state of "what?".

"Look, Kirishima," Katsuki called. _Holy ~~fuck~~ he just called him by his name normally, he's going to die_\-- " **Love is never the "give and receive" type of thing, you know?** "

_Love is never the "give and receive" type of thing, you know?_

It echoed in his head. In his empty head it was all that bounced around. It was like he stood in an empty room with words having the ability to slap you in the face repetitively.

He just...

Katsuki was silent, and Eijirou didn't know if he could still look in those ruby red eyes and not cry. He knew he'd _be...rejected,_ but he still didn't expect it to hurt this much. He tried his best preparing himself but it is still...

"It's...I don't expect you to..." his sentence trailed off. There was a physical ache in his chest as if he was laying on the hydraulic press, but even more painful.

Well, he's rejected anyway. He better spill everything out and get the most of the heavy feeling in his chest out.

"I don't know where I stand with you. And I don't know what I mean to you. I never expected you to, like, to _like_ me back," he said, hating how his voice shook as if he was about to cry...and he totally is about to, "All I know is when I see you, all I want is to be with you."

He kept his eyes forward. _Love is never the "give and receive" type of thing, you know?_

Huh, he never expected it to be that type of thing. So why does it still hurt like a ~~bitch?~~ It's....It's not even a matter of what is manly anymore. It's a matter of emotions and rejections and was it even his fault to be--

"Oi. ~~Shitty~~ Hair."

He didn't turn and kept his gaze forward. In a sudden, the night wasn't beautiful anymore. At least the anxiety was gone now. All he had to deal with was the pain in his chest--

~~"Fucking ass~~ \--oi! Look at me like a man!"

At this, Kirishima snapped his head toward the blond. His eyes met red ones, and Katsuki's eyes were oddly normal. If he wasn't mistaken, there was a slight hint of pink on his ears...

_Was that a blush...?_

"I'll only say this once: **I'll consider it**."

~~Fuck.~~ Everything was gone again. It was blank. _Why won't Katsuki stop playing with his emotions?_ Why are his words so provoking that it only took a few words to make Kirishima's moods take a swift turn? _Why, Katsuki?_

Kirishima blinked. "Wait, what?"

_I'll only say this once: I'll consider it._

Consider?

It took him a short while before he tilted his head. "You aren't rejecting me?"

Katsuki stared at him, his face unreadable for once. Then, suddenly, the blond exploded onto a fit of laughter, letting himself rest on his back and clutch his stomach as he laughed his ribs to oblivion.

"HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA!"

"What's so funny?" Kirishima asked warily. He tried not to be distracted by how Katsuki's face was _so much more beautiful_  smiling like that, exposing his teeth in a smile rather than a smug smirk or in screaming. Or how Katsuki's chest heaved up and down in a desperate attempt of his body to breath. Or how the slightly oversized jacket spread around on the floor behind the blond, revealing the muscles on his shoulders and neck as they flexed subconsciously. _~~Damn,~~ he's too gay--_

"I'm not...hahahha, I got you there, didn't I?" Katsuki sat back up, a ghost of an amused expression still on his face, "Who said I'm rejecting you? I'm not, you little  ~~fuck!"~~

The redhead stared at him. **Who said I'm rejecting you? I'm not!**  echoed in his head.

He's not...rejected. He's not rejected!

_HE'S NOT ~~FUCKING~~ REJECTED, OH MY GOD!_

"I'm...not rejected?" Despite the internal screams, all he managed to voice was a small confirmation. Katsuki rolled his eyes at this, a small smirk present on his face, moving his head in a small response to his question.

"....but the thought scared you, didn't it?" 

Yes, yes it did. He felt like he was going to _die._

"You're mean..." Kirishima wanted to punch something so hard but he's far too conflicted. In one second he was elated, then suddenly miserable, then now he's elated once again that his body felt weird. Really really weird!

"Psh, thank you!" Katsuki rolled his eyes. He took a deep breath, and the atmosphere made Kirishima gulp. _Was...was this even real?_ "Maybe I don't enjoy being alone as I pretend to be."

He looked once again at the blond, eyes hazy. This grabbed the older one's attention, furrowing his eyebrows and frowning at him. "What? Are you going to cry?"

~~Fuck~~ yes he will, _but with manly tears_. At Katsuki's question, the faucet in his eyes turned on and the conflict was released in the form of tears.

~~"Damn,~~ Kirishima, you felt that relieved you cried?" The sentence itself sounds like a bully making fun of its victim, but Katsuki's tone lacked the bite and the menace. It even sounded concerned, making him cry even more.

He doesn't deserve this guy.

_He doesn't deserve any of this, god ~~damn~~ it._

He covered his face as he felt warm tears flow down his cheek. There was something warm in them, something relieving, and it's called a heart.

"What? You think I'd judge you or something? Do you seriously think I'd stoop that low?" Katsuki whispered, seeming like he was offended but actually sounding concerned. Through the blurry haze that has become of the world seen through his tears, he saw the blond slide him his microfiber handkerchief. "That's my phone screen wiper. And that's ~~fucking~~ clean so don't accuse me of giving you eye infection 'cause you won't."

_He really doesn't deserve his bestfriend._

He wiped his tears and his face on his shirt instead. As he hiccuped post-crying, all that enveloped him was peace. And also a desire to sleep, but most importantly, peace.

"So this is what everything was about?" Katsuki asked, "The ~~fucking~~ phonecall, the texts, and the weird ~~shit~~ of a sight of you joining the girls at lunch and ~~shit?"~~

"You saw me?" Kirishima asked wide-eyed. Had it been not a surprise? It made him relieved though, it doesn't seem like it was relevant anymore. And it doesn't seem like Katsuki knew there was something. It was still a surprise.

His respect for his best bro went from 100 to 1000 just from realizing that Katsuki's legit reaction was _this,_ that he didn't even plan this out and this is just the first that came to mind. He really is the best bro ever-- ~~damn,~~ he knew he's redundant but he really doesn't deserve this demon with an angel's wings and an angel's heart...

"Well, I have eyes, ~~motherfucker.~~ Of course I'll see," the blond replied sarcastically. "So that's why everyone was acting weird... ~~~~"

Eijirou smiled. He felt so relieved. After many months of trying to convince himself of things, it's finally over! It's... _over_ , thank God.

"What's our relationship then? You said you'll consider it."

"What do you think it is, idiot?!" Katsuki snapped, back to his usual self. Sparks formed in his palms. "Look, I'm still questioning things myself. I'll...I will keep your ~~goddamn~~ confession in mind. _That's_...what I want to say."

His ears were completely red, like their eyes and Kirishima's hair. At this, he closed his eyes and nodded.

"Thank you."

Katsuki let our a grunt in response. "....Yeah. Same. For the...this. I didn't ~~fucking~~ expect it but ~~fucking~~ thanks," the blond started to mumble.

"You're welcome, bro."

"Psh," Katsuki said, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, right: _Bro."_

Kirishima didn't mind that last part. For now, he's happy. Truly happy.

_Puto vos esse molestissimos._

_-actual quote by Sen trust me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste of Blueberries On Fruit Cans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓  
> Chapter 3: Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid ✓  
> Chapter 4: Eri's Apple Cores and Todoroki Misses The Smores ✓  
> Chapter 5: To The Only Friend I Need ✓  
> Chapter 6: Being Alone On Your Birthday 101 By Bakugou Katsuki ✓  
> Chapter 7: Extremely Thoughtful Efforts For The Extremely Unthoughtful ✓  
> Chapter 8: They're Gayer Than They Planned ✓
> 
> Iida checked another chapter done. He had this feeling in his gut that his classmates were doing something really idiotic right now, but he can't really escape the End Notes. 
> 
> //A guide to buying gifts: Pick one gift as a joke. Conceal the real gift somewhere in there. Demonstrated by Shouto Todoroki, Eijirou Kirishima and Ochako Uraraka.//  
> //lol lsd's are drugs. don't do drugs kids.//
> 
> =Lines that didn't make it=  
> //"The risk I took was calculated but hey. My math skills are terrible." - Kirishima//  
> //"Eijirou. Your gay is showing, Eijirou." - Kirishima to himself//  
> //"I never questioned my sexuality before." - Katsuki//


	9. The Colorblind's Rubiks Cube

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> //Todoroki having issues with his gay. It's so frustrating it felt like he's colorblind and was given a rubiks cube to solve. 
> 
> Also, Bakugou's so hot he made the bisexuals straight.//

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : ) Press F to pay respects : )

He was...

He could call this, for the lack of better wording, _bittersweet._

_Tap, tap._

"What do you think of the confession?"

Midoriya looks up at the taller teen and hummed. He looked back almost immediatey at Kaminari's phone as he saves the audio he recorded. The phone was oddly supposed to be waterproof, making it the most convenient for the current phase of the operation. Absentmindedly, Todoroki wonders if there was anything else that Kaminari's bumblebee phone couldn't do...

"I still have no words, honestly. I'm still letting it sink in, you know?" Midoriya replied, pressing the buttons on Kaminari's earpiece and connecting it to the phone. "Right now, the only thing I could say is that I'm happy."

Todoroki blinked, sitting beside the green-haired male at the edge of the pool. The others were organizing the equipment back inside the hotel and also taking their showers to get rid of the chlorine. For some reason, he and Midoriya decided to stay. It was way quieter this way.

As they reasoned, it's not everyday you get to be in a tropical resort. Also, their flight back home is literally in a few hours, so they're milking out all the fun they could get.

As they listened and watched the confession live earlier, Todoroki was the one who seemed to be the least affectedーthough the same couldn't be said in reality, as he was very, _very_  concerned. Mina and Uraraka screamed and splashed water everywhere, making him worried about Kaminari who is literally powering up the gadgets _on the pool._ It's the most basic knowledge in their electronics lesson in middle schoolーwater and electricity together is a huge NO. Yaomomo also cried in happiness at one part and in that part, Sero almost broke Shoji's drone (and Todoroki's camera) if it wasn't for Midoriya noticing that it was starting to fall. Lastly, Midoriya was in charge of the audio coming from the microphone, so he didn't talk much since it started, but he could catch glimpses of the shorter teen's smiles and even _tears_  as they live watched the confession.

Aside from the already mentioned _shocks_ _,_ the greatest shock ever was Katsuki's...well, being another Katsukiーthe Katsuki they didn't know very well.

Todoroki knew that Kirishima was someone special in terms of the Katsuki Bakugou heirarchy, but he had yet to see just how special he could be. Months back, he watched firsthand how Midoriya denied being the one to reach out to Bakugou at the kidnapping incident and instead gives that position to Kirishima just because he knew Bakugou would respond better. Ever since, Todoroki kept seeing that it's not just in that one incidentーBakugou had always been responding better when it involves Kirishima _all. this. time._

Perhaps Midoriya noticed that too. If so, then he could proudly say he understood him. 

_Well,_  his inner mind added, _he could pretty much understand Midoriya almost 100% of the time, given that ~~he was so dense that Midoriya needed to spell things to his face~~  he spent the most time with the shorter teen_, but there is just one thing he had been curious about...

Just how much can they understand each other?

"I've never heard Kacchan laugh like that since we were four. It's...nostalgic to hear it again, I guess."

_But he laughed with Kirishima now, not with you,_  Todoroki's inner mind begged to say, but he knew to keep his mouth shut. That's not a nice thing to say. _No, erase that thing from your mind, that's bad, Shouto._

Midoriya still fiddled with the phone as the audio was transferred. "I know I sound like a brother or something, but I'd gladly let Kirishima make Kacchan laugh like that again and again. He doesn't even have to try. A hero only found happiness in saving, after all."  

His voice was oddly solemn and dreamy, not matching the joyful words he was saying. It turned out more...bittersweet. _That's one thing we had in common at the moment,_ Todoroki took note. "Why do you sound sad then?"

"Eh?" He almost threw the phone down to the water when he jumped up in surprise. "I-I do?"

He gave the other teen that _'Duh'_ look. In reality, it didn't change his poker face much, but Midoriya got the message nonetheless. "Well, I'm just feeling envious, that's all. Kirishima and Kacchan resolved their things and made a compromise, while my own life was still...a mess. I wish I was as brave was Kirishima-kun, you know? Facing his problems and charging straight on risks like that..." he sighed.

At this, he raised a brow.

A solid statement formed in Todoroki's head as if he realized that his quirk was just basically water.

_Wait, it **is** -_

_But that's not the point, Shouto_. He'd think more about that later. Now's not the time, be appopriate, Shouto. _This is why we can't have ~~nice~~  cool things._

"You like someone." It was half-statement, half-question.

He remembered that one sentence Midoriya had said in the pastー _At least I know who I'm bi for_ ーand it just sunk in. It took a few months for it to sink in, but it still sunk, so it's alright. Todoroki could say that he _definitely know who he was bi for, thank you so much_  but that is if he was actually _bi_  to start with. It's starting to get confusing. Again. He thought he was bi then suddenly... _where was he going with this again?_  Oh right, Midoriya likes someone.

Midoriya likes someone.

He honestly doesn't know what to feel about that.

The green-eyed teen shrugged. "K-kind of? But I'd rather not think much about it," he said, "They probably like someone else, or their type doesn't match me, or maybe they are too busy to even entertain admirers--"

"You clearly _are_  thinking much about it, Midoriya," he said, stopping the mutters coming from the other's mouth. 

The green-eyed teen sighed. "Fine, I admit it: I kind of like this person."

"I see," Todoroki said, "You seem to be so dreamy about the confession." 

He definitely does. Midoriya stared at the screen as if he was looking right through it; his mind seemed to be somewhere else. If not for the sudden screams coming from the others then he probably wouldn't have noticed that he was out of it.

"I'm...sorry about that." Midoriya pressed "Proceed" on the file transfer and placed it beside him as he waits for it to complete. He stared at the water absentmindedly again.

"How much do you like this person?" he cannot help but ask. It seemed to bother Midoriya too much. For his liking.

"Love? Eh? It's not--uhh, I mean--"

"I said _like,_ Midoriya." Todoroki stared back at the water, letting his legs feel the temperature of the water. He tried not to freeze or boil the water again as he focused on trying to not regret ever asking.

"Moderately, I guess. I like them moderately."

He really hated swimming pools. Before he could reply, a question followed.

"What about you?" Midoriya asked in curiosity, "You like someone too...right?"

He definitely had an answer, he thought as he pulled his knees in and out of the water. There is a high chance he would frost or warm the water subconsciously, so he better stay out of it. 

"Yes, undeniably. But I am...still not sure," he admitted, "since you like someone too, do you think you can answer a few things for me?"

There is this cloud of cotton in his head when he tried thinking of his inner issues. He had been focusing on avoiding headaches recently (homesickness? lack of soba?) so he had little to no time to ever think of his sexuality. He likes to think that he doesn't care, but he wanted to have a concrete answer when someone asks him about it. Clearly, having to endure an awkward silence when someone asks if he's straight is unbearable. He wanted to simultaneously combust right then and there.

Also, clearly, he isn't 100% straight. He doesn't think he's gay, either--It's confusing, _alright?_

"Oh, sure. What is it?"

Thank god Midoriya could listen to him. 

"I feel sick sometimes,"ーhe looked up at the skyー"I want to be with this person but its just...out of place? I want to spend time with them but its kind of _off."_

"Off?" the other repeated. He met his glance in just eye contact, they seemed to battle each other with determined glares. After a few moments of silence, Midoriya got the memo. "No, that's not it. You're not feeling off, are you?"

Midoriya's just too good sometimes, he thought. "Fine, no. Still, I feel frustrated that there is something wrong but I don't know what. It's actually starting to...sting."

"Oh...how? That's...I'm sorry." He continued as the green-eyed teen continued to listen with all ears.

"I just want to be close. Literally. It's weirdーI dont think I like them at all," he said. It's true. He wants to be literally close with that person but there is something called "social cues and memo" and being the aloof person he was, he almost always missed it. Apparently, you can't just walk to a random person in the train station and pinch their cheeks. Let alone sit eerily close to someone even though they were your friend. "It's just that I'm drawn to them," he said, "When you're in love, you wanted to touch them, right? Hug them, kiss them..."

Midoriya nodded.

"But for me being close is enough. It's frustrating to..." 

"Just say it out, take your time, Shoucchan."

_~~Damn~~ that nickname_, he internally said. He almost forgot what he was going for.

"It's frustrating I cannot exactly call my feelings "like" or "love". I think I like them but maybe not."

There, he said it.

"....Like you can't justify it. You're frustrated."

"Yes. You...got that right."

He could hear the heaven's gates open up and let the angels sing as they descendーMidoriya understood him. For the first half of his first year, he always thought he's straight, which wasn't at all dramaticーhe find girls beautiful by default. Then suddenly, Momo came in the picture, became friends with him, came out and that's exactly the moment he found himself questioning himself. She explained the LGBTQ community and his lack of knowledge and awareness about such existence was made up for by her explanation. To conclude, he realized he may not be exactly straight. That is why is was convinced for the second half of the year that he was bi.

But that isn't the case now, is it?

For now, he just had to continue this conversation and talk about his admired personー _with his admired person_ ーand try not to spell that information in front of _Izuku Midoriya_  and let him figure it out by himself.

He likes someone else, though. It's not like Izuku would do something about his feelings anyway, so there's no point in actually telling him. If he got it, then that's a bonus then. He won't push into it that hard.

Bringing him out of his daze, Midoriya sighed. "Same. I don't even know if they swing that way...anymore..."

_Wait, what-_

"COME HERE!"

Suddenly, the voice of none other than Mina Ashido rang from the inside lobby to the pool area. The topic was forgotten for a few seconds as Midoriya coiled the wires in his dry hands and held the earpiece and the phone at the other.

The pink-haired girl was waiting for them by the doorway and led them right to the elevator and to Momo and Jirou's hotel room. Jirou was sitting at her bed, playing with her phone. She waved for a second before turning her phone off and burying herself in her sheets.

"Let me guess, it's successful? You guys are so...giddy."

"Yep, girl, we never fail," Mina replied with a grin. Jirou smiledーexcept to Kaminari, the blond was so drowsy he had to be carried on Sero's back on the way. Todoroki cannot see why not he would just go to his room and sleep. Maybe he insisted to stay to support his bestfriends confessing their stuff to each other.

_Stuff, heh._

Momo plugged in her laptop to the sockets in the room, as well as the speakers. Kaminari's phone was also connected to the laptop. A few silent minutes passed with Momo and Midoriya pressing some things to the laptop until Momo clapped her hands to grab everyone's attention. They seemed to connect the audio to the video.

Kirishima was simply playing with his phone and playing music at the start until Bakugou rushed suddenly with a loud curse (it made Jirou jump and lose her progress in trying to sleep). The two talked for a while before Kirishima handed the gift to the blond.

Then suddenly...

" _Speaking of which, the ~~bastards~~  earlier gave me _ ~~ _shit._ "~~ Kirishima asked with a small, strained _"How?"_

" _Icyhot got me a stress ball to squeeze the stress away. Do I even look stressed? Huh? Me? Stressed?_ " 

Everyone turned to him in a sudden, looking for his reaction. He sat the farthest from the screen, right in the middle. Midoriya sighed beside him, caressing his elbow. "I was about to tell you earlier but you're focused somewhere else..." he said.

Momo widened her eyes. "Wait, guys, wait," she said, "You gave him a stress ball, Todoroki-kun?"

"Yeah."

Mina snorted through her nose, fanning herself. They speak in hushed tones and he could bet a few hundred yen that Mina would literally cackle if it wasn't for Jirou sleeping in the same room. "Wait, I need to type this: _April 20th: the day Bakugou was given a stress ball "to squeeze the stress away._ " She laughed, slapping Sero's back, who was trying his hardest to not laugh.

There is only one thing he could say. "He does look stressed all the time."

Uraraka's laughs came in the form of a broken disc. It was like an armalite, a broken line. What's so funny?

" _The ~~fuck,~~ is he blind?_" Katsuki asked.

"I am not blind."

He tried to ignore everyone's laughter behind him. Even Midoriya snorted at one point. Seriously, what's so funny? Katsuki asked, he _answered_ _._ He's being kind.

~~" _Damn,_~~ _he got on my nerves...but...I guess it's fine_."

The others laughter smoothly ended and became a medley of "Oooohh"s. Everyone looked back at him but he didn't speak this time. Apparently, half of the things he say are funny and the more he spoke, the more he looked like a walkie talkie clown so he won't speak. He'd rather be a walkie talkie, he'd rather be a clown, but just _not_  a walkie talkie clown. Seriously.

At the screen, Katsuki suddenly paused, looking down at the box. The microphone picked up sounds of gasps, and he won't assume whether it belonged to Bakugou or not.

"Why a skateboard?" Uraraka gasped, her attention now focused on the said skateboard. "I mean, that's expensive? And I am not informed Bakugou could skate, honestly." Momo nodded her mutual confusion and intrigue.

Kaminari somehow became more lively, answering for everyone. "The two spend a lot of time at the skatepark. Eiji let Bakubro borrow his skateboard everytime. Sero and I even joked that he should buy him one and skate with him rather than stare at him and watch him skateーI didn't know he'd actually do it. The last time I checked, he had no money to buy chicken nuggets."

"Really?" Momo asked, turning back to the screen, "Kirishima-kun showed me the receipt for the skateboard earlier and it _did_ cost a lot..."

"Cost a lot? Even for you?" Todoroki cannot help but ask. Everyone looked at him but not out of shock or amusementーit was out of agreement. Todoroki could say his social skills are sort of improving.

"Eh? What...what do you mean?" the black-haired female said, blushing in embarassment.

"That thing sure is expensive then..." Sero concluded, making her face almost the same shade as his hair's left hemisphere. Hemisphere, huh? ~~Seconds ago, he's just gay and now he's a planet?~~

"Wow." Midoriya gasped.

At the screen, Bakugou started to admire the skateboard, looking at the wheels and the unique pattern of electricity in the wood. He could guess that it was Kaminari's idea (or even Kaminari's _doing),_ but even in that lighting and distance, he could say that it was amazing considering how Bakugou seemed _speechless_ at it for the first few seconds. The angry-by-default blond even _smiled_  right after. Imagine what Kirishima would've felt?

If Midoriya smiled at him like that, he would literally set the mesosphere on ice.

He had trouble handling his fire, and his gay.

~~"~~ _ ~~Damn,~~  how much does this cost?  ~~Fuck,~~  I need to pay a part of them back_."

" _It's a gift. You don't have to pay anything back. This isn't like the night vision camera thing_."

"Wait, wait, wait," Sero waved his hands around, "What? Just, what?"

"What?" Mina asked.

"What?" Kaminari asked.

"What?" he asked back.

"What the what," Mina facepalmed, "I know right?! This is..this is too much of a shock. First of all, Bakugou wants to pay it back? He accepts it? Is that why Kirish cried?"

Uraraka nodded. "I know? I mean, I know he's the _biggest jerk_ I've ever met but I had respect for him. My 20% respect went from that to 40% right now, hold my beer, I'm _shook."_

"Shook? You mean shocked? Shook is the past tense of shake..." Momo shared a confused look with Midoriya and Todoroki. He himself had no idea why and what kind of language some of his classmates were speaking, but he somehow got the point.

"Second, night vision camera thing? Why didn't I hear of that?" Mina pouted. "Are any of you aware? Are any of you seeing this oh my god--"

Night vision...

_Night vision camera?_

"Oh," he said in realization. When Momo and Midoriya's eyes met him with the same realization in those black and emerald irises, he knew he'd hit jackpot.

He'd stay silent then. It seemed Kirishima or Bakugou wants someone else to know.

Thankfully, the conversation steered on as the video rolled. Mina went from shocked ( _shook? what does that even mean?_  he thought) to awestruck, rolling on the carpet beside Momo's bed.

"Can I have Kirish or Bakugou as a boyfriend because ~~_damn_~~  boi," Mina said, leaning close as the redhead smiled, subconsciously brushing his hair back. At the same time, Bakugou leaned back, letting the sleeve of his jacket slide down and reveal his upper arm muscles. Todoroki, if he were to score that view, would give it somewhere around 7 or 8. (We all knew which upper arm muscles he would give 9 and 10 to). Bakugou's throat and Adam's apple also got exposed as he leaned his head back. If he wasn't mistaken, even Momo was blushing. _Momo_ _._

"Mhm same, Mina. _Same,"_ Uraraka said, "I want him with Bakugou-kun though; I've been itching for this since last year." She grinned, leaning closer to the screen.

The rest of the watching was cool, though. For him, at least. The moment Kirishima said the magical three words (twice, but the same context because Bakugou is just denying it), the girls squealed so loud Jirou jumped up in her sleep again. Kaminari and Sero punched a pillow they got from the bed and almost teared up at the manliness (at the same time, gayness) they could watch on the screen.

" _I'm attracted to you_."

"OH MY DEAR ~~FUCKING~~ LEMON TEA OH MY GOD OH MY GOD--"

" _My foot is attracted to your face_."

Todoroki blinked. _Ouch, that hurt_. If Midoriya said that to his face--

~~Daaaaamn,~~ _stop_.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME." Mina frowned. "Can I punch Bakugou to the outer space?"

"A-ashido-chan, please calm down," Midoriya spoke sheepishly. "I doubt Kacchan meant that, or would he allow you to--"

Todoroki placed a hand to his shoulder. "It's fine."

The green-haired teen calmed down. He didn't remove his hand. Momo caught a glance and smiled at him sweetly before he shook his head. Momo nodded sadly before turning her attention back to the video.

Mina, Uraraka, Sero and Kaminari scooted closer to the video. Seeing that he knew Kirishima wouldn't get rejected and knowing that someone would just retell the entire story to him later anyway, he moved even backwards and asked the green-haired teen to a conversation at the back.

Change of plans.

"What do you mean by "they don't swing that way anymore"?"

At the background he could pick up a few statements make up for the silence of shock ~~(shook)~~ from Midoriya.

"Uraraka? You okay, girl?"

"I'm nothing but a state of constant incoherent screaming at this point," the brunette answered and proceeded to whisper-yell at the screen, "HOW CAN YOU BE SO SOFT WHEN YOUR QUIRK IS **HARDENING?** WHY ARE YOU CRYING OMG NO, YOU'RE TOO PRECIOUS, YOU SMOL CINNAMON ROLL BEAN CHILD **\--"**

"So?" Todoroki asked, making the green-haired teen jump at his place beside him. He had been staring for a minute or two now. _Did he have something in his face? Was he somehow suddenly ugly close up? In the dark? Why isn't Midoriya speaking?_

_Why is he thinking so much?_

"I mean, I like...him. I don't know why but I feel like," Midoriya continued to stare. "a bother to them? And they also like someone else now so there is no point anyway."

Todoroki closed his eyes. "Same."

"Because I like you, Todoroki-kun."

....

_Wait, what--!_

"T-todoroki-kun?"

"Yes?"

"You said _same._ Do you really think they like someone back? I mean, they should be pretty lucky. Have you confessed to them yet?"

Midoriya waved in his face, sitting at a different side and different expression beside him. He wiped the sweat beading on his forehead.

Apparently, he had imagined that confession. Was the water at the pool drugged? Why, out of all the sudden, does he start hallucinating things?

He took a deep breath. "I will politely decline."

 

* * *

The dawn ended in peace. Kaminari went back to his room to see Kirishima probably having the best sleep in his life. Hagakure was up and awake listening to the microphone's another receive straight to her phone live. Tokoyami saw the coffee the next morning, reheated on his nightstand. Midoriya went to his room that night mostly confused, but hopefully Shinsou was there, up and awake, watching cat videos and talking him through his inner confusions. Todoroki went back to his room and actually caught a short nap before sunrise. Uraraka went to her and Tsuyu's room and shared the small gossip she had specifically memorized to share. Sen, Hiryu and Awase spent the night stranded on a beach cave before being fetched by Vlad King and Midnight around sunrise. Katsuki was right there doing his morning jogging after his short nap to see how Vlad King was just like Mr. Aizawa when he's angry, and he just noticed just how much Mr. Aizawa looked like he cared if it wasn't Katsuki being on Sen, Hiryu and Awase's position.

But he decided not to think more about it. He doesn't feel like sulking or _stressing himself_ today. He had...one of the best birthdays of his life, he could remember his classmates for that.

He went back to his room, Tokoyami bowing his head in thanks for the coffee he didn't want anymore. That's when it hitーleg cramps. He really wanted to train now...

"Bakugou, you alright?" Mina asked.

The moment he stepped out the hotel and onto the rented van they had to the airport, his friends had the audacity to show their faces to him first thing in the morning. Not feeling the determination to argue, he rolled his eyes and slumped at the very back of the van.

_Denki ~~fucking~~ Kaminari_ sat beside him at the back and had the guts to ask, "Why are you walking like a centipede with...with 98 missing legs?"

_So much for acting calm_. ~~Fuckers~~ are ~~fuckers,~~ whether or not they plan an extravagant pool party for you. "Shut the ~~fuck~~ up, Dunce Face! I don't want to hear your voice first thing in the morning!"

For good measure, Jirou appeared at the row in front of them and gave the blond a well-deserved smack in the head. "Idiot." Katsuki wanted to do that too, but he doesn't want to touch a moron or else he would have one less friend.

That night, Kirishima just confessed to him. Don't get him wrong, he had seen it coming, but reacting on the spot was still hard, even for him who is the best in everything. He wouldn't lie and say that he haven't thought about being with someone and wanting someone's presence for once. He still needed to think more about it, even though there is something inside him that is 100% convinced that being with Eijirou freaking Kirishima wouldn't be so bad.

_He really, really wanted to skate._

He still can't believe the redhead bought him a skateboard, though. He knew the little ~~fucker~~ was 50% broke at most and again, there is that voice in him that wants to pay the redhead back. _When is that ~~fucker's~~ birthday again?_

The van started to fill up. Beside him was Dunce Face and Soy Sauce. In front of him sat Acid Girl, Jirou, Brainwashing Machine and Tokoyami. At the row in front of that sat Frog Eyes, Tail Boy and based on the lack of head between Tail Boy and the door, Invisihead must be there as well. At the passenger seat sat Cementoss.

"Where are the others?"

Wait, he just asked that out loud.

Dunce Face and Soy Sauce turned their heads at him, stopping their conversation. He growled at them and just looked down at his phone, going straight to his Twitter and looking for _"RedRiotOfficial"_ at his followers. _When is that ~~fucker's~~ birthday because that ~~bastard~~ might have the guts to think he owes him._ No way in hell.

"I don't know what the question is but without a doubt my answer is I don't know," Kaminari said, grinning with the look of disdain in his eyes. "Why am I so dumb?"

"You're not dumb," Sero quickly answered. "Anyway, the others took the buses. I think Kirishima went with Yaomomo at bus number two, I think."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Whatever." Did he ~~fucking~~ ask? 

That helped though. 

He didn't miss that ~~shit-eating~~ grin on his friend's face. The driver to the van entered and did a head count, announcing completion and starting the engine. Katsuki pushed his hands on his pockets and stuck his eyes at the window, watching as the beach rolled out perfectly in his sight despite his lack of sleep. Normally, he'd be _hell_ crankyーhe admits thatーbut he just feels normal. ~~Damn,~~ he can't stop feeling...different. 

Dunce Face's _annoying as ~~fuck~~  _ringtone interrupted his peaceful (cOUGH) thoughts. The blond answered quickly before grinning, glancing at him oddly _for some reason._ He growled at the blond before turning his head back to the view. There was a bus right in front of them so he was guessing that is where the others were.

They were special, as it seems. They had a van to themselves when the others had to deal with a bus with those Class 1-B students, teachers and the other tag-alongs.

Suddenly, Kaminari plugged in earphones and plugged one on his ear and the other on his. "What the ~~fuc--"~~ He was about to pull it off when Kaminari showed him the person callingー ~~fucking Shitty~~ Hair.

" _I'm not saying I don't want to go, but if you say something―anything, I'm not going to hesitate stopping this bus, walking down and slashing your tires._ " The familiar voice of the redhead went smoothly on the phone. The ~~fucker~~ must have been using earphones and placing the mic too close to his mouthーto his lips--

"Hey, bro, how did last night go again? I'm too sleepy, you know?" Kaminari asked, placing a finger to his lips. Something must have snapped inside Katsuki because _he ~~fucking~~ complied_. What even is the purpose of this secret ~~fucking bullshit?~~ The fact that it involves Kami ~~fucking~~ nari made him suspicious.

" _Uh, I...didn't get rejectedーyou won the bet. I'll pay you at the airport. Our seats are right next to each other right?_ " Kirishima answered calmly on the other line. His voice even shook. Katsuki swallowed and narrowed his eyes. Kirishima and Kaminari will have seats together?

"Mhm?" Kaminari grinned. "Anything else?"

" _C'mon, bro. I'm sitting beside Aizawa-sensei and Kayama-sensei. Todoroki, Iida and Midoriya are behind me, too. I could tell you all about it later._ "

"Stop Ice-olating yourself," Dunce Face laughed. "You...you know, because Todoroki is near you...you know what? Whatever."

The next things he heard made his breathing stop.

"So how's your libido bro?" Kaminari whispered on the microphone, earning a small cough on the other line.

"The only thing straight about me is my shooting."

Katsuki _snapped._ He snatched the earphone away and tried his hardest not to explode Dunce Face's dunce face into dunce bits. "WHAT THE ~~FUCK?!~~ YOU'RE BETTING ON ME?!"

He's ~~fucking~~ deceased. Someone's getting cremated tonight.

He bet Kirishima would be a better seatmate than these ~~fuckers.~~ Oh wait. 

Oh ~~fuck,~~ he's gay. 

_Fin._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1: Taste of Blueberries On Fruit Cans ✓  
> Chapter 2: Steak Talk of Kirishima and Deku's Lovelives ✓  
> Chapter 3: Art Is Stupid and Bakugou Has A Cupid ✓  
> Chapter 4: Eri's Apple Cores and Todoroki Misses The Smores ✓  
> Chapter 5: To The Only Friend I Need ✓  
> Chapter 6: Being Alone On Your Birthday 101 By Bakugou Katsuki ✓  
> Chapter 7: Extremely Thoughtful Efforts For The Extremely Unthoughtful ✓  
> Chapter 8: They're Gayer Than They Planned ✓  
> Chapter 9: The Colorblind's Rubiks Cube ✓
> 
> Iida finally let out a sigh. Thank goodness he was released from the End Notes before 2019. He wasn't up to the idea of him watching the fireworks from there. He missed home. Wait, wasn't it April? Why does it feel like December in the end notes? He guessed he won't know now. 
> 
> FINALLY ITS DONE.  
> TOOK ME A WHILE FOR THIS, BUT CONSIDERING IT WAS THREE TIMES LONGER THAN GB AND DISCO BALLS, IT'S OKAY, RIGHT? 
> 
> Thanks for reading this! I really, really appreciate the feedback so please tell me things down below if you want! I could say right now that I didn't edit this and this is literally the first draft of this thing, so for any typos or missing words or confusing things I'm sorry! 
> 
> Anyways, I have a story I had worked on while I was writing this. It's called Es Vergessen and it's really angsty: it's about Izuku working at a suicide hotline. It's mainly Tododeku but a lot of characters are featured with a lot of parts (screentime?), including Ms. Joke, Monoma Neito, Shinsou Hitoshi, Hatsume Mei, the Todorokis and the unnamed parents of our beloved Class 1-A students. Check that out if you have nothing else to do. 
> 
> So yeah! It had been really fun writing this! Again, thanks for reading! I love you! 
> 
> HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let's face 2019 with a loyal bnha heart.


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